Gay Talese On Drunken Reporters And Tape Recorder Killing Journalism

Wanting to be a journalist in the 60s meant smoked filled newsrooms and sauced up colleagues unable to keep their heads up. Literally.

These are master raconteur Gay Talese's candid memories of his early days at the New York Times. "I couldn't believe this was the journalism that abounded in my time and the presence of alcohol was part of it."

He was also left wondering how the paper ever got done amidst all that smoke and booze. "Hell the drinking that went on in journalism was beyond that [showed on Mad Men], lunches, drunken people all over, it's a wonder the paper could ever get out."

Further down he remembers how he wrote his famous Frank Sinatra piece for Squire Magazine in 1966 and talks about how it could never be done again today.

And you can thank the tape recorder for that. "It started with the tape recorder, number one worst thing that ever happened to serious non-fiction writing.".

With the press of a "rec" button you can kiss the good old days of solid authorial pieces goodbye. "The magazine piece is not a work of art anymore."

Watch the two videos.