The old line about newspapers and the bottom of a birdcage is especially pertinent when it comes to newspapers no longer in business. Even the great dailies of yesteryear—the Philadelphia Public Ledger, New York Herald Tribune, Boston Evening Transcript—tend to live on largely in the memories of old hands, in historical cartoons, or in the biographies of novelists who began as reporters. A case in point is Washington’s old Evening Star, always “old” in the recollection of ex-staffers and aging residents of the nation’s capital, with the original name preferred to its brief, final incarnation: the Washington Star. If the Evening Star is remembered at all nowadays, it is recalled as an incubator of political journalists of the last century—David Broder, Mary McGrory, Haynes Johnson and others—and as the newspaper that was put out of business by the Washington Post, where Broder, McGrory and Johnson found new homes and wider fame. The whole story is faithfully chronicled by Faye Haskins, a former library archivist, in The Evening Star: The Rise and Fall of a Great Washington Newspaper.

The Wall Street Journal

. . .a comprehensive, unbiased history of a newspaper that was once considered one of the top ten in the US. Many Washingtonians cannot recall a time when the city had competing journalistic voices, and Haskins successfully gives the Star its rightful place in the historiography by presenting examples of past coverage of divisive politics, race relations, crime and corruption, sports, local events, and the creative arts and by exposing behind-the-scenes intrigue in the newsroom. The first history of the Evening Star, this volume fills a longstanding void and illuminates the newspaper's successes and failures in an engaging style. In the present age of newspaper closures and takeovers, Haskins's narrative serves as a loving eulogy amid gloomy forecasts for the industry.

Choice Reviews

Librarian Haskins (Behind the Headlines) chronicles Washington D.C.’s Evening Star newspaper in this intelligent though dense history. Chapters focus on themes and events from the paper’s inception in 1852 to its shuttering in 1981, with an emphasis on the editorial decisions behind the coverage. The response to Lincoln’s assassination reveals the workings of a mid-19th-century newsroom, including a chilling eyewitness account from the theater. The paper’s influence is heralded throughout, exemplified by its lobbying for the 23rd Amendment that allowed D.C. citizens to vote for president in 1960. The Star’s progressive but spotty record on race features groundbreaking moments like publishing an NAACP letter during the 1919 race riots, but regrettable practices like running real estate ads that encouraged segregation. A chapter titled “Murder and Mayhem” includes such anecdotes as the reported 1949 story of demonic possession that inspired The Exorcist. The postwar political section details the days after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, highlighting the resilience of both reporters and the Kennedy family. The Vietnam era marked the paper’s final glory days, with reporters like Mary McGrory earning spots on Nixon’s “enemies list.” This astute history serves as a thorough primer on Beltway journalism

Publishers Weekly

Though it pains me to admit it, for much of its life The Evening Star was the best newspaper in Washington, with a broad and talented bench of ink-stained journalists who loved it like a sailor loves his ship. That The Star was eclipsed is a sad fact. But Faye Haskins won’t let it be forgotten. Her account of the newspaper’s 129-year history is important reading for anyone who has an affection for journalism or Washington or both.

John Kelly, Columnist, The Washington Post, Senior Executive at IBM

The rise and fall of the Washington Star stands as a morality tale for modern journalism. Faye Haskins’ careful history reveals how the Star became a great paper, how well it covered the news of its day, and why it failed to survive.

Donald A. Ritchie, author of "Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps "

Faye Haskins has done it. She has taken us back in time to a past of glory and, yes, gore, to good times and bad, the bitter and the sweet. The life and death of an institution like the Washington Evening Star is painful enough to live through; to believe that a great paper's and a great city's fates were intertwined. Reading that history leaves one with the realization that a dying publication was not indicative of a dying city. Faye's recapitulation forces one to wish the Evening Star's fate had mirrored that of Washington. And that is a painful reminder for all of us exes who were so Star Struck.

Paul Delaney, Former New York Times National Editor