In the wake of the #MeToo movement, media newsrooms have been hit with allegations of sexual harassment and assault again and again.
So it should come as no surprise that a former CNN White House correspondent is writing a novel about the environment of sexual harassment in a “ratings-obsessed” newsroom. Jessica Yellin, who left CNN in 2013 after Jeff Zucker became CEO of the network, is publishing a novel, Savage News, with Mira Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
According to Page Six on Monday, Yellin created a tale about a female reporter who “fights to report on serious news at a network driven by a ratings-obsessed boss.” She also experiences “institutional sexual harassment.”
The book might sling some dirt at the current political situation as well: the fictional reporter is allegedly “investigating a scandal involving the foreign born US first lady.” This parallels suspiciously with the foreign-born Melania Trump.
In January, Jessica Yellin stated in an op-ed written for The New York Times that CNN had “let down its viewers and its journalists by sidelining the issues and real reporting in favor of pundits, prognostication, and substance-free but entertaining TV ‘moments.’ … From a journalistic perspective, this model presents real problems.”
However, Yellin won’t say whether or not her novel is based on real-life experience. Page Six quoted her as saying, “I’ll just say this is a work of fiction.” The book is due for release in 2019.
