Tabloid City

Questions and topics for discussion

As a tabloid, the New York World milks stories like the fatal shooting of a Stuyvesant High School student, giving it big play on the front page. Do you believe this is ethical journalism? How much of this story do you think belongs in the news? What does the student’s death (and readers’ interest in it) say about society?

What does Richard Elwood, the publisher, symbolize to Sam Briscoe? Why does the future look so bleak for newspapers?

Do you think Sam was right to say that what was being reported on CelineWire.com wasn’t real news? Were you surprised that this gossip website was doing better than a newspaper? What do you think it says about the current state of print journalism?

What role does Bobby Fonseca play in the novel? How does he differ from Sam, and in what ways are the two alike?

Ali Watson echoes a lesson from the 1960s: “Never create guys with nothing to lose.” How does this lesson apply to his son, Malik Shahid? How does it apply to Josh Thompson?

Sam is ashamed that after learning of Cynthia Harding’s death, he automatically thinks about how to cover the story in the World, including what the headline should be. Do you think this is a defense mechanism to help him avoid confronting the tragedy? How does Sam cope with the news at first? How does this change over the course of the novel? How do you think he will manage in the future?

Why do you think Jamal’s thoughts on jihad changed after his haj? How much of an impact do you think having a wife and child had on his change of heart? If things had gone differently for Malik and he too had become a husband and father, do you think he would have turned away from radical Islam?

Josh is surprised to see a society murder on the cover of the World instead of coverage of Iraq or Afghanistan. Were you also surprised? Why or why not? How do you think a newspaper should balance its coverage of global and local issues?

Lew Forrest reminisces with Consuelo and says that he loved her, even though he also loved his wife. Do you think it’s possible to love two people at the same time? Why or why not?

Helen Loomis wonders if she was a storyteller like Scheherazade, telling stories to stay alive. Do you think this description also applies to Sam? What do you think will become of him when the paper is gone?

What role does nostalgia play in Tabloid City?

Do you think Myles Compton gets what he deserves? Why or why not?

Bobby Fonseca recalls a professor at journalism school telling him, “Ya gotta learn to forget. Ya gotta leave all the pain in the city room. Report it, write it, and go home.” Do you think Bobby, Helen, or Sam is able to forget? How much of the pain that they witness as reporters and editors do they each carry around?

Why do you think Malik blames his father for everything? What went wrong in their relationship? Do you think there was anything Ali could have done to reconcile with his son before it was too late? Do you think their final confrontation was inevitable?

What do you think prevents Josh from acting when he has the opportunity?