Paper of Wreckage: The Rogues, Renegades, Wiseguys, Wankers, and Relentless Reporters Who Redefined American Media

by Susan Mulcahy, Frank DiGiacomo

A jaw-dropping and unputdownable oral history of the New York Post and the legendary tabloid’s cultural impact from the 1970s to today as recounted by the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. By the 1970s, the country’s oldest continuously published newspaper had fallen on hard times, just like its nearly bankrupt hometown. When the New York Post was sold to a largely unknown Australian named Rupert Murdoch in 1976, staffers hoped it would be the start of a new golden age for the paper. Now, after the nearly fifty years Murdoch has owned the tabloid, American culture reflects what Murdoch first started in the 1970 a celebrity-focused, noisy, one-sided media empire that reached its zenith with Fox News. Drawing on extensive interviews with key players and in-depth research, this eye-opening, wildly entertaining oral history shows us how we got to this point. It’s a rollicking tale full of bad behavior, inflated egos, and a corporate culture that rewarded skirting the rules and breaking norms. But working there was never boring and now, you can discover the entire remarkable true story of America’s favorite tabloid newspaper.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Journalism, Business, Pop Culture, American, Audiobook

592 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2024

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
For the most part, I really enjoyed this. It was the perfect marriage of my Majored In Journalism and Wrote Celebrity Gossip subplots and it was just so fun to dive into the chaos of a classic, old-school newsroom.
I did find myself wanting slightly more content/context—whether that be more sections that broke up the interview style, or inclusions of the actual articles/pictures that were being referenced. I don't know if that would be really hard to do with copyright (or if the finished version will include some of that) but I felt a little left out reading the interviews about iconic, scathing articles or first-page images and then either having to try and look them up on my own or just power through.
I also almost wish slightly more time had been given to the chapters about iconic events (Son of Sam, 9/11, the rise of Trump). These were definitely a lot more interesting to me than the office politics or financials.
Still, super fun and I know I'll think about this one a lot. Tentatively entering my oral history era!

[Jake Allport Beauregard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased when it comes to books about newspapers. My first career and the bulk of my twenties were in the dying animal that is the newspaper industry. I always enjoyed listening to the old timers (usually on frequent smoke breaks) tell stories of the old days, which seemed to always begin with "Back when we were a real paper..."

This book was like talking to those old crusty newsmen again, whose smirky boasting of mischievous behavior and a passion for their work always made me feel like I had missed out on all the fun.

The New York Post is a story that can only be told best as an oral history of tons of those involved. The casual, chatty mood of the hundreds of participants who were interviewed was perfect to convey the life of an American tabloid that you either love or hate but there is no denying it's a rare gem.This is one of the best books on the newspaper industry I've ever read.

[Jack Spiegelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humor is the greatest gift and few things are more enjoyable than a truly funny book. I speak of Paper of Wreckage—an oral history of the NY Post written by 2 writers, Susan Mulcahey and Frank Digiacomo, who worked there off and on over the years. They interviewed 240 former and current staff involved with the paper between 1977 when Rupert Murdoch bought it from Dorothy Schiff up to the present.

Dorothy and Rupert
Dorothy Schiff was the granddaughter of Jacob Schiff the financier. She was married four times, had 3 children, and once said: I don’t know why anyone would want to have children. She bought the paper in 1939. The Post under her leadership did well for many years but in the 70.’s went into a slide. Circulation dropped and in 1975 the paper lost money for the first time. Dolly was old, she was tired, she was burned out and along came Rupert Murdoch with 31 million and that was that.
Dorothy was cheap. Maybe cheap isn’t the word. She saved used string (Cary Grant also saved used string). A letter sent out by the paper that came back with an uncanceled stamp would have the stamp steamed off for re-use.
Under Dorothy Schiff The Post was a tabloid but what might be called a respectable tabloid, meaning it could be found in view by a guest visiting your house and you would still be considered acceptable company. That all changed when Murdoch bought the paper. He arrived and it didnt take long to figure something out: “These people don’t know how to sell newspapers.”
Murdoch wasn’t interested in making a killing with the NY Post. He was after media interests in the US and The Post was a natural to get these interests rolling. The paper quickly transformed from a liberal voice that supported the unions and the social cause into a conservative organ under Murdoch who had 2 favorite sayings: 1: We’re not pissing enough people off; and 2: Give me tits!
Murdoch was a newspaper guy and he knew the business—inside and out and upside and down. He was hands on. He wrote stories, edited, did layout and could often be found down in composing setting type—in the old days before digital. He loved the business and what he loved most was to get his hands on a some juicy story involving sex, money or power and to splash it across the front page beneath a giant headline and suitable foto to go with. The headline and foto were the story. Copy was secondary—beside the point. A story can always be made to fit a good headline. That was the idea.

The Wood
Before the arrival of digital type, a font up to a certain size, was set in lead. A headline on the front page of The Post is 72 point or even larger and for that size had to be made in wood. So Wood became a synonym for the front page headline. The post under Murdoch became known for its Woods
Examples
Paul Sann was news editor during Dorothy Schiff’s last years at the paper—a greaseball from the Bronx who wore cowboy boots and string ties. He was like an actor playing the executive editor of a tabloid—a Sam Spade type. Gloria Swanson was being released from the hospital following a health scare and Paul’s Wood was: Sick Gloria In Transit Monday.

Some others
Ford to City: Drop Dead (The New York financial crises of the 80’s when Koch was
Mayor and made an appeal for funds from the Federal Government and was turned down)
Cloak And Shag Her (CIA Boss David Petraeus quits over affair.)
Hung Fu (Keith Carradine who starred in a Kung Fu martial arts film hangs himself while masturbating.

Some that didn’t make it:
Yidlock (The Hasidic jews of Williamsburg complaining the roads were not well paved)
Ike Beats Tina To Death (Obit for Ike Turner who had a penchant for slapping Tina around).
Kiss Your Asteroid Goodby (When an asteroid approaching the earth veered off to spare the planet)

Dunleavy
This is a book about many people but the person who pops up the most—here, there and everywhere--is Steve Dunleavy. Dunleavy started out writing for the The News, a paper in Adelaide when it was owned by Murdoch—still operating mostly out of Australia. When Murdoch bought The Post and moved to New York he brought Steve Dunleavy with him. It was Murdoch who tagged him with the name Street Dog.
Steve was interested in 3 things: drinking, women and a newspaper story on the front page, below a giant Wood, written by Steve Dunleavy. Steve wasnt going to win any prizes for the quality of his prose. The copy was manic, hyper, infested with cliches—unreadable. Richard Gooding, metropolitan editor at the time, said: I’ve seen people with autism who could write better sentences. But there was an energy and a style of his own that forgave those sins. Also a commitment to the story that was total. He was possessed.
Son Of Sam
There was always a rivalry between The Post and The Daily News but In 1977 the Son of Sam serial killings bumped it to the next level. Over at The Daily News Jimmy Breslin was the writer who broke the story and was killing The Post until Dunleavy got rolling. Donleavy passed himself off as a grief counselor to the mother of a victim and turned on the charm he had in abundance and got her to talk to him and later on when she found out it was all a con she didnt care. She became his source on the story and he made her promise to speak to no other reporters including his own from
The Post
Richard Gooding, editor: That’s when it hit me that these guys—the Aussies and Brits—did things differently—meaning things we would never do.
At some point Dunleavy decided he was the guy to catch Son of Sam who had a habit of stalking couples making out in cars. The idea was a stake out: 2 reporters, one with a blond wig and a third, Joe DeMaria who had a gun carry permit, hidden in the back of the car and when Son of Sam arrived to murder the 2 reporters. Jimmy would beat him to the punch, and shoot the bastard himself and kill The Son of Sam and take an amazing photo.

Lou O’Neil, Rock writer: I had just started at the paper and knew nothing. I was with Mike Pearl, also a new hire, and we were coming off the graveyard shift at 5 am walking along in Chinatown and there is a body lying on the sidewalk half in and out the street. I said to Mike: isn’t that the boss? I went over and gave him a little kick. Steve? He looked like he was dead.

Dunleavy interviewing David Ng for a job. His first question was: How do you say Motherfucker in Chinese?

Dunleavy and Murdoch shared a philosophy: Yes there was a lot of chaos at The Post—the drinking, fighting, all that fucking and so forth. But get it on the page

Page 6, Claudia Cohen and Elaines
The 2 rules of journalism are: to create fear or piss you off. And for a paper like The Post there is a 3rd: to excite you sexually. The Post was more than anything a paper about New York and Page 6 was the place to read about the people that made New York New York—the rich, the famous, the powerful—and what they were doing and who they were doing it with or to.
Pete Hamill who wrote for The Village Voice said: The perfect Page 6 item involves sex, money and violence and if you can throw in the pope and a dog you’re a legend.
Claudia Cohen was the Page 6 editor from 1977-1980. Claudia was smart, she was hot, she was high class and she was funny. The column was designed to do one thing: provoke comment. Sometimes the comments were flattering, sometime they were unprintable, sometimes they were in between. But they were always forthcoming. She took her cue from her predecessor Neal Travis who said: I have to piss off one person every day. Otherwise its not a good day.
JFK Jr in the 90’s was dating this one, that one and the other one and Page 6 was keeping score. Then a guy from a video store called Claudia Cohen and said JFK JR had rented 2 videos—Broadway Danny Rose and Bodacious Ta-Tas and failed to return Bodacious Ta-Tas. She ran the item and got a call from JFK Jr, a smoothie press-wise because he had been groomed in such matters by his mother, and he said yes he had rented Broadway Danny Rose but not the other because he used his Amex card and how smart would it be for him to use his Amex card to rent a movie like Bodacious Ta-Tas? It was something like that. So Claudia ran the denial and as she said: we got a twofer

Elaines
Elaine Kaufman started the restaurant in 1963, on Third Ave and 68th st. where it quickly became a scene for writers and other low-life types. Elaine had a soft spot for writers. She said: I feel sorry for the poor bastards. They have no money and everyone hates them. There was a vibe to Elaines. The food was good and Elaine was there in charge and you didnt want to piss her off. It became a club and if you managed to score for membership you ascended to the next level New York-wise.
Claudia Cohen was a regular and so was Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn played a major role in the papers evolution during the early years. He and Claudia were mates because Roy knew everything about everyone and what they were doing with or to each other and he was happy to share it with Claudia to further serve the interests of Roy Cohn

Sex In The Office
Take a group of smart, highly motivated people working in close contact at a job that demands creative solutions to difficult assignments under terrific pressure and what you are going to have is a parade of relentless office sex.
The Post was male turf. A woman who wanted a job there had to want it badly and once you got it you were fair game. You had to be tough. Steve Dunleavy was a pussy hound and The Post was like shooting fish in a barrel. But from time to time he met his match. He nagged Jami Bernard on the subject—banging—who would tell him to fuck off, that failed to register, and at one point she decided to switch things around. There was an office with a wall that was half glass next to the door so you could look out onto the floor and Jami was in one with Steve and Steve closes the door. She knew he was not the type to turn down a dare and decided to switch things around. There was a conference table and Jami says: Put it on the table, Steve. I want to see what you got. There were people on the floor but the coast was clear and he takes it out and starts pushing and pulling to improve the demo. Jami says: is that it?
George Artz, city hall: You open the wrong door and you’re going to see something you dont want to see.
Charlie Carillo, Columnist. Bernie Bard’s chugging along all these years with the same wife. I said: Bernie How do you do it. He said: The key to a long and happy marriage is: to not be too emotionally involved.

Sports
Charles Lachman, reporter: I was covering a big debate between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo during the Mayoral race, a huge event at The Sheraton on 7th Avenue, with hundreds of people at tables and all these hot shot power types. Steve Dunleavy said: Cover it like a boxing match. So I did. Cuomo entered the room and I said: Mario: what did you have for breakfast?

The Mob
Was The Post mobbed up. Indeed it was. There were many hard core Italian blue collar
types in the trade unions, driving trucks, down in the composing room setting type,
etc, that were connected or had a friend or neighbor to provide a favor.
Cynthia Fagen, reporter: There was a guy, lets call him Tom, worked as a pressman. I didn’t know him well but you could tell he was not someone to be crossed. I was with him one time and tossed off a very casual remark about Al Eilenberg who was being an asshole and I said I wanted to kill him and Tom was carrying a Pan Am travel bag that he opened and here was a mountain of cash with a gun on top and he said: You want me to kill him?

Politics
Murdoch was political. He loved the newspaper business and he loved using the paper to manipulate and influence the political machine. Ed Koch was running for mayor in 1977. Koch was a reporters dream. Dick Belski came up with the line: The Mayor is unavoidable for comment. Koch was a liberal but, as he said, a liberal with sanity. Murdoch liked that. He said: I am going to make him mayor. Koch was running against Cuomo and Bella Abzug, a feminist, and neither were a match for someone like Murdoch with a paper like The Post at his disposal. Generally in the past an editorial endorsed by a paper was confined to the Opinion page but with Murdoch the push for Koch went to Page 6 and the front page with one story after another and it was Koch, Koch, Koch. It turned the tide for him and he was the first to admit it.

And Also:
How to get hired at The Post. One way guaranteed was to interview the relative—wife, son, father, etc, of a suicide and return to the office with the suicide note.
Joyce Wadler, feature writer: They sent me to the police shack to see what was what and my instructions were: If its above 96th St forget it. Your preferred story subject is the rich white person.
Jami Bernard, movie critic: Murdoch didn’t like stories about old people—unless they were rich and got caught raping a 12 year old.
Blonde was a good tabloid word. So was tragedy and miracle.
Al Ellenberg, executive editor: What separates the man from the boy reporter-wise is the ability to interview a parent whose child has been murdered or murdered and raped. If you can do that you are NY Post material.
Jim Brady, editor Page 6: The Post was generally thought of as a tabloid on steroids—a bunch of low-life thugs obsessed with sex, murder and politicians banging hookers. But lets not forget that news from a tabloid is news nevertheless and The Post broke more than its share of stories from first rate reporters that were solid pieces of journalism that influenced coverage by others in the lets call it non-scumbag media who were obliged to note and follow up on.
Jerry Lister, editor of the sports dept and often referred to as a semi-illiterate. He once spelled edition as addition. Some of the athletes he covered had better command of the language.
Peter Green, business editor: Money is the porn of New York and we are the pornographers The best stories are RPI—Rich People Inconvenienced
Harriet Johnson, classical music critic. Her advice to a young critic starting out: Either love it or kill it but don’t leave it wounded.
Miss Gerry. Susan Mulcahey: Miss Gerry was in charge of office supplies and the occasional emergency need: money, food, clothing, etc. She did it all. She had a temper and even Murdoch gave her a wide berth. Her standard greeting when you knocked on her door was: what the fuck do you want?. Or: Go find Hal for me. What does he look like? He’s bald and wears a turtleneck. He looks like a dick.
Charlie Carillo, columnist. During the AIDS crisis a card was issued, following a blood test, that testified you were clean. Me and my photographer Don Halasy were sent out to ask people if they would agree to carry the card. We came up with a bagel—zero. Who wants their name and foto on a story about AIDS. We are wandering around the Village and here is a store with a mannequin in the window. I pointed to the mannequin and said to Halas: we night as well ask her if she would carry the card. We returned to the office and handed in the foto with my copy. The copy was: We mannequins don’t have to worry about AIDS. We just give each other splinters. Now you tell me what happens next. I said to Dunleavy: It was just a joke. He says: I’ll take care of it mate. The next day the pic is in the paper with the splinters crack. We took some heat for that one—more than usual even. Like how could you make fun of this scourge devastating the gay community, ect, ect. But that was The Post.
John Waters, filmmaker, on the Opinion page: I read the editorials in the Wall Street Journal to see how the smartest people that don’t agree with me think and I read the editorials in The Post to see how the dumbest people think.
Richard Gooding, Metropolitan editor; Once you’ve made a Post guy respectable you’ve created a useless journalist.
Roy Cohn, scumbag straordinario, was a mentor and confident to Donald Trump. His advice was to Trump was: Don’t explain, don’t complain and never, ever, tell the truth.
Dick Belsky: Was the paper racist. I would have to say yes. Our job was to cover the news and black people were not news.
Jack Newfield at The Village Voice wrote a piece about The Ten Worst Judges In New York. It was never easy to find out where a judge lived to stake him out but Mike Pearl had a genius for this and we sent Steve Hirsch out to get a shot. Steve was the inventive type. He put a garbage bag over his head and hid across the street among some other garbage bags beneath a xmas tree and got the shot.
Bruce Ritter was a well known and highly respected priest who hung around Port Authority Bus Terminal trolling for young boys. Charles Sennott, a recent hire and still sharpening his journalist chops NY Post-wise, was assigned the piece and nailing down the facts. But the facts were in conflict. The DA got involved plus the Church and the Governor of NY, Hugh Carey, and Charles was pinballing back and forth between all three, spinning his wheels and Dunleavy was losing his patience. Charles said: I’m confused The piece is taking on another dimension. Its getting broad. Dunleavy said: I hate the word confused. This isn’t a fucking morality play. Its a story about one thing: sucking cock!
Some possible Woods for the Bruce Ritter piece that never ran:
Our Father Who Art In Kevin
Turn The Other Cheek
In Kingdom Cum
Headless Body in Topless Bar: Hands down the all time greatest Wood by either Vinnie Mussetto or Drew Mackenzie but Vinnie generally gets the credit. The story was something about money. A guy charges into a strip club and shoots the owner in the head, chases everyone out except a stripper, rapes the stripper and grabs a kitchen knife and cuts the guys head off and grabs the stripper and splits.
Back at the paper the call comes in to Vinnie Mussetto who writes everything down and starts screaming: HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR. The news room comes to a screeching halt and everyone surrounds Vinnie who is still on the phone. He says: I’m waiting. It could just be a bar. They wait. The suspense is brutal. They wait. Finally the word: Its a strip club. Pandemonium. Vinnie is jabbering like monkey.
Well I could go on. The stories and the people who wrote and edited and shot them are endless and endlessly entertaining and scanning the pages of this book one comment appears repeatedly, again and again: I never had so much fun in a job.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.L. Mencken on the ideal tabloid: "It should be printed throughout, as First Readers are printed, in words of one syllable. It should avoid every idea that is beyond the understanding of a boy of ten. It should print no news about anything that morons are not interested in."

NYC tabloid (but not Post) veteran here. That is, more or less, the mission statement, not that anyone would put it that way in public -- although talented writers and editors often fall short and produce excellent work. Since Rupert Murdoch bought it in 1976, though, the New York Post has been more diligent than most in scraping the bottom of the barrel, breaking through it and scraping some more. This hugely entertaining oral history tells the story of the strutting imbeciles, walking personality disorders and moral lepers who made it happen.

The book picks up the Post's story starting in the mid-20th century, when it was a staid liberal "writers' paper" whose articles tended to run long, to 2024, when it was none of those things. Those interviewed include former Post executives, editors, reporters and other staffers -- along with Post-watchers from rival papers and a few surprises, like John Waters and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. I said in a recent review that books whose jacket copy describes them as "rollicking" never actually are. Well, this one is, when it's recounting the antics of famed reporter, editor and drunk Steve Dunleavy, the vendettas and fistfights that livened up the newsroom, the antics of mobbed-up production workers, the writing of HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR, and especially the historic moment -- it didn't last long -- in between periods of Murdoch ownership when parking-garage mogul Abe Hirschfeld owned the place, and the staff, which was not enthusiastic about him, put out an entire edition of virulently anti-Hirschfeld stories. (But where are the memories of Hirschfeld grabbing and kissing the visibly revolted editor Pete Hamill? It made for a famous photo, which you can enjoy at https://www.irishamerica.com/2003/02/....) There's also a reasonably full description of the racism and sexism that have characterized coverage by, and the internal politics of, this ornament of American journalism.

Speaking of Dunleavy, the book's best quote comes not from one of those interviewed but from Hamill, whose tenure at the Post was mercifully (for him) brief. The Australian tabloid ace was having sex with a female acquaintance one night in a snowdrift outside Elaine's restaurant, a noted Upper East Side hangout for writers, when, depending on the account, either a van or a snowplow ran over him and broke his foot. Said Hamill, when he heard about it: "I hope it's not his writing foot."

Surprisingly, while there's loads of colorful material about the news and sports sections, there's next to nothing about the editorial pages, which helped cement Murdoch's role as publisher to the literate portion of the right wing and prepared the way for Fox News. This despite a former associate editor of that section offering all kinds of insights about the newsroom's inner workings. Do the modern Monroes and Madisons on the opinion pages operate under a code of omertà? And, despite the tales of great headlines both published and unpublishable, there's nothing about what's clearly the best ever: On the 2018 revelation by Paul McCartney that members of his old group had gone in for an occasional spot of group masturbation early on, the page 1 head was BEAT THE MEATLES. Well, even in a 543-page book, I guess you have to leave something out.

One final thought: The ex-employees interviewed generally make some effort to distance themselves from the worst of the goings-on, and I don't doubt that many of them wish things had been different. But here's former reporter and columnist Amy Pagnozzi: "Did Rupert Murdoch accelerate the cheapening of the collective consciousness? Obviously. Is he a negative force in the world? Totally. On a number of occasions, I wrote poorly about my own paper while I was working there, but looking back now, I wonder if I did enough, whether I was collaborating just by being there."

Even more final thought: "Paper of Wreckage" covers a lot of ground, but for those really interested in the old New York tabloids, Mike Jaccarino's America's Last Great Newspaper War: The Death of Print in a Two-Tabloid Town describes in fascinating, sometimes grisly detail the life of the lowest people on the reportorial ladder, the "runners" who staked out the homes of suspected criminals and minor celebs, infiltrated entourages and hospitals, and competed bloodthirstily, often without bylines or glory.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insane and informative stories on every single page - what more could you want from a book about the Post?

[Mr. Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my new blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. No review was required in return for an advance reading copy and no review was promised.

Mr. Book just finished Paper of Wreckage: The Rogues, Renegades, Wiseguys, Wankers and Relentless Reports Who Redefined American Media by Susan Mulcahy and Frank DiGiacomo.

The New York Post is the oldest continuously published paper in the United States. It was originally founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1801. This is their story about how the paper has turned into an extreme right-wing publication and of many characters the New York Post has employed and covered over the past half century.

As the authors pointed out, “Fingers are often pointed at Fox News and Donald Trump’s presidency as prime catalysts of this national divisiveness, but neither would have attained the power and influence they wield today without the New York Post.”

This is an oral history in which the authors spoke to over 240 people and covers a half-century, beginning in the early 1970s. When that period became, the paper was owned by Dorothy Schiff and was actually a very liberal newspaper. Of course, things changed when it was sold to Ruppert Murdoch in November 1976.

One of the highlights of the book was the chapter that discussed both the 1977 New York blackout and then the Son of Sam case. Another highlight came in the book’s many discussions on sports, especially about the Yankees.

One interesting tidbit was the origin of the famous line “I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue was notarized”, which is attributed to Ed Koch. But, the book reveals the real source of the quote.

One of my favorite stories of the book was about Maury Allen’s writing of Dick Young’s obituary. There was also some interesting material on Trump spread throughout the book.

There were enough interesting stories for me to give this a B+. Amazon, Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews. It will also be posted at Amazon, as soon as the book is released to the public on October 8.

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on June 1, 2024.

[BRANDEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riot for me because I lived a sliver of this book. I worked for the Post (in an entry-level administrative role, not a journalistic one) during Chapter 27: the Col Allen years. No, I was not called for an interview. But my two cents: the depiction of Col as a foul-mouthed Australian boss-from-hell was accurate, and the incident where we botched a front-page "scoop" on John Kerry's vice presidential pick left egg on our faces for months. I apologized to many people at parties for working for a notorious right-wing rag... and this was a decade before the rise of Trump. There was hard drinking and weed smoking and interoffice romances even then, and the guy who sold pirate DVDs at work, and at least one truly foul incident of employee revenge in the bathroom. I escaped after three years.

Given my stories, I'm not surprised that the authors had more than enough material to put together a great oral history. The early parts of the book are the best, taking place in the scuzzy New York of the 1970s, with rampant alcoholism and drug use, and an explanation of how the paper founded by Alexander Hamilton with aspirations of journalistic greatness in the era of Woodward and Bernstein turned into the crime-and-gossip rag we know and hate. The reason is Rupert Murdoch, who imported a much grubbier style of journalism to the U.S. and, the book suggests, laid the groundwork not just for Fox News but for the up-to-the-minute gossip sites of the Internet. Loved all the anecdotes of journalists that were along the lines of "I did X and it was unethical AF but I got the story", the frank descriptions of how mobbed-up the unions were, the recollections of Lower Manhattan back in the day. As the paper segued to the 1980s it started to get into stories I vaguely remembered (along with the frequent incursions of a certain real estate developer on the front page), and then by the 90s things that I knew well. If anyone comes off poorly it's Cindy Adams: Rupert Murdoch loves what those in power can do for his media empire, Trump as we know only loves himself, but Cindy Adams (still a gossip columnist when I was there) doesn't seem to have any political inclination and just wants to have famous friends for the hell of it. She still considers herself a friend-of-Trump, but I guess she's in her 90s now and doesn't care what people think.

At any rate, it's a great ride, even if overlong at points. It's interesting that the Post/Daily News feud, very hot when I was there, seems to have been won decisively by the Post, and that the paper, always a money loser (again, common knowledge when I was there), is being kept alive because Rupert still has a soft spot for it. It's very much in the news today that his politics have ripped the Murdoch family apart and that the paper may very well fold as soon as he dies (possibly before that body's in the ground). I'm embarrassed to say it, but I'll actually miss it a little.

[Lindy High · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who is a news junkie, this book is must reading. It’s an oral history of the New York Post from the days under owner Dorothy Schiff, through its purchase by Rupert Murdoch, its eventual sale and its re-purchase by Murdoch. It was a playpen: the book is full of news making, sex and affairs, hard drinking, headline puns, great events, circulation issues, feuds, changing alliances, and so much more. In short, a fun read. Three interesting aspects:
First, Rupert Murdoch. Whatever the American staff members thought about their Australian owner, they gave him credit for his know-how. Unlike many owners, he could actually cover an event, write it up, come up with a headline, and do the layout. He knew the business.
Second: Many Post reporters knew Donald Trump back in the day. He was regarded as a liar and publicity hungry by some of them.
Third: A recurring presence in the book is someone not directly quoted at all, but central to many memories. He was Steve Dunleavy, one of Murdoch’s imports from Australia who at various times was a reporter, an editor, and again a reporter for the Post. He is the stereotypical hard-charging, hard-drinking, chauvinistic newsman, staggering into work but somehow getting the news out. He died before the book was written but comes to life throughout the book in anecdotes shared by his former colleagues.

At the end, a variety of news and news-related people speculate on the Post’s future. Generally, they seem uncertain whether it will survive after Murdoch’s death. But they also speculate whether there would have been a Fox network and all that goes with it without the Post. As one put it, “It [the Post] was the tip of the spear of Limbaugh, Drudge, all of that —they came in the wake of and followed the lead of the Post. The fact that it happened, and happens, in the country’s largest liberal city says there’s a market for it in the rest of the country.”

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an oral history of the editorial world of the NY Post from the 70s to today. The Post is the country’s oldest continuously published newspaper, it was started by Alexander Hamilton and gone through many iterations since and has been owned by Rupert Murdoch since the 70s (minus a few years when he sold it and bought it back). It’s know for its sports section, Page Six and its amazing headlines.

This was such a great listen, it mixed the history of newspapers, NYC, gossip, politics and just general bad behavior of the 70s and 80s. I had my own personal interest in the material first as a NYC denizen but also as an ex NY Post employee (I was there in a non editorial capacity from 2010-2015). But you do not need to live in New York or have the unique experience of having working at the Post to enjoy this one; this book is just a really interesting look at a paper that has influenced journalism and politics for many years and many writers have come out of the paper like Nora Ephron and Anna Quindlen. It’s a perfect audio listen with a varied cast of characters and I could not stop listening to this one.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paper Of Wreckage by Susan Mulcahy and Frank DiGiacomo, this book is about the New York post after banking heiress Dorothy schiff sold it to Rupert Murdock in the 70s. When Dorothy owned the post it was a liberal newspaper but Rupert Murdoch bought the paper and turned it into something reminiscent of the yellow journalism from the turn of the 20th century. He not only brought in his own guys but was even responsible for creating page 6. I was looking so forward to reading this book but found it bordered more on good old boy type stories and although they do mention newspaper items that anyone who lived through the time or are familiar with their history will remember. I did find some of the book interesting but found it more gossipy than anything else. From Murdochs introduction to the staff until the end of the book I just found myself constantly wanting to put the book down and come back to it and it took me a while to finish and I am so glad I am done with this book and I’m now writing my review I won’t say I was let down by the book but thought it could’ve been done better. #NetGalley,#AtriaBooks, #SusanMulcahy, #FrankDiGiacomo, #PaperOfWreckage,

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The New York Post is a tabloid paper that has been published since the early 20th century, but after it was only after its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch that it truly became known for its outrageous style.

As the style of the Post had become more evident in even mainstream publications in recent years, I was interested in learning about its evolution through the mouths of those who actually worked there in this oral history. The story is an interesting one, and its winding path full of drama and history. The authors got excellent interviews and insights out of those they spoke to.

However, I did think the interviews could have been arranged better - though they are roughly grouped by era and topic, the jumps from theme to theme did make it hard sometimes to see the through line running through it all. I would have also liked to see a bit more of the external perspective of the Post from its readers and competitors, because what little we got of that was fascinating, for example the people who were the subjects of the infamous Headless Body in Topless Bar story.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found parts of the first half of this oral history a challenge to read, often skimming through the text. Why? It seemed a mishmash, stitched together with little text flow. Recollections relating to major news event coverage presented in the latter part of the book had better text flow and continuity. The authors interviewed more than 240 current and former Post employees and media watchers. Author commentary is interspersed. The infamous “wood” headline, “Headless Body in Topless Bar,” marked the start of Rupert Murdoch’s bold ownership in 1976. Wild behind-the-scenes tales from gritty reporters and staff are offered. Some before Murdoch employees struggled to keep up with the crazy changes that took place. Murdoch sold the paper in 1988 due to media cross-ownership rules, but reacquired it in 1993 after he obtained an FCC waiver. Interim Post employees could see that the eccentric real estate mogul Donald Trump was a fraud. Also, having worked in a letterpress print shop myself, I didn't need to look up what a “wood” headline meant; I already knew.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to tell the story of the New York Post than an oral history? The paper's sharp, funny collection of alcoholics and workaholics come brilliantly to life in their own words -- and in the cacophony of their shared story, you get a terrific sense of what it must have been like to work there. It's hilarious, horrifying, and sometimes even envy-inspiring.

Naturally, Murdoch looms large, but the authors (both former newsroom staffers) resist the urge to simplify, to preach, or (thank God) to make the whole story a cautionary tale about the rise of Donald Trump. Instead, they tell the more interesting tale of how a group of flawed humans tried to write the first draft of history, and sometimes even succeeded. I devoured it.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone else picked this out for me. I thought it was beneath me, like the Post. Hundreds of pages later, I had to admit I was wrong. Like the Post, you don’t want to admit it’s fascinating. Well researched, with many of interviews with staffers and subjects, it tells the truth about the paper. It’s a fascinating read, even to literary snobs. And if you’re older, it gives so much insight into events important in your life that you may have nearly forgotten. Now this is a great summer read.

[Lee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

i need to stop picking up history books with an expectation that there will be hot and writhing political commentary happening - not that that was lacking from some testimonials given, but obviously is not the point of an oral history. that said, i think this was really well done and it was an interesting read and i learned a lot about how we’ve arrived to the present in regards to media monopolies. three stars because i feel unsatisfied of where this leaves us in the eyes of harmful news reporting that thrives off of our vulnerability in fragile and dire times.

[Dylan Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of journalism or a NYer or both, this is the book for you. It's exactly what you'd expect of an oral history of one of the brashest titles of one of the most divisive media empires in the world. From the relatively staid tenure of Dorothy Schiff to the loud, conservative heyday of the Murdoch era, every ribald detail of the newsroom is uncovered by the Post's longtime staffers.
It's loud, humorous and gossipy- exactly what you'd expect from the paper which birthed Page-Six.

[Tiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptional book telling the story of a very relevant newspaper, both due to its role in American journalism and to the fact that it served as a door to America for Rupert Murdoch. Filled with the kind of epic and rowdy stories you'd expect, alongside a darker backdrop of malpractice, political interference and general meanness. Its influence should not be underestimated, even today.

Like 99% of oral histories, it is highly readable.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a page six reporter/editor for a decade now, it’s impossible for me to not love a 25-hour audio book of gossip about my company. If you’re into journalism at all, you’d probably love this, though I feel like there are so many things that happened at the post outside of Donald trump the last 10 years they could have included in here.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oral history of the New York Post. Sometimes rollicking and sometimes very sad. The Post has been in business since 1801, but this book focuses on events in living memory, from the end of the Dorothy Schiff era to the rise and fall and rise of Rupert Murdoch. Of course, there are hundreds of smaller stories too—triumphs, rivalries, failures, and just getting through the day.

[Jake Willems · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title says, this an oral history of the New York Post. It is filled with anecdotes and stories from reporters, editors, photographers, and other important people from the history of this tabloid. I found it frequently interesting. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the book I read last year about the New York Times, but it was still an interesting read.

[Deedee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an interest in the history of journalism, especially that of legendary dailies, this is fun and is exhaustively researched, telling tales from the sometimes-dodgy New York Post. The book is lengthy and probably overly detailed for the average reader but I skimmed portions and savored others.

[Charles Carillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a ride on the journalistic roller coaster known as the New York Post, told by the people who were there. This book will make you laugh and make you cry, probably at the same time. An amazing job by Mulcahy and DiGiacomo. A TV series beckons!!

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 2024 Staff Nonfiction Favorite for Dave! For readers of The Times by Adam Nagourney and Reporter by Seymour M. Hersh.

Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting oral history of The New York Post, and — despite all its questionable stuff — this book does a good job of showcasing why it’s been important to New York, pop culture and tabloid news.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[North Landesman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun excellent book that sparkles whenever Mackenzie Dawson is quoted.

[DJ Sixsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive history of one of the most important newspapers in history.

[Jo Ann Rhodehouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried but the way this is written doesn’t work for me - Not worth my time.

[Tyler J Hinds · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.3

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most entertaining books I've read in some time, while also being an important history book.