For better or for worse, the news media in the United States has huge worldwide influence. And yet little is actually known about its real inner workings, inherent logic and deeply embedded customs. In this revealing and sometimes brutally honest media autobiography, veteran American journalist Tom Plate tells you what it is really like to work inside these corridors of power. The author -- a syndicated newspaper columnist as well as a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) --takes you behind the scenes at iconic media institutions such as Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times and New York magazine. There you meet such factors of media life as the reality of the deadline, the speed of the news cycle, the inevitability of office politics, the debilitating impact of political correctness and the occasional great joys of journalism. For young adults who are considering a career in the news media, this compelling book is necessary reading; and for older professionals who in their work have to deal directly with the news media or who are deeply curious about its inner workings, this book will come as a true revelation.