The local newscast is the bread ‘n’ butter for most television stations, and the news anchors are hometown heroes in our celebrity-obsessed society. But can you really tell the whole story in a 30-second sound bite? When does news become entertainment? And what is a conscious-stricken reporter supposed to do about it anyway? That is the premise for author Rene Gutteridge’s laugh-out-loud funny send-up of TV news, Scoop.
Ray Duffey truly believes he is doing his community a service by reporting the news. At least, he did, before the channel’s drive for ratings shifted the focus from what is important to what is sensational. But when Ray encounters his boss’ new assistant, Hayden Hazard, a fresh-faced slip of a girl who innocently expresses her faith in public, out loud, on purpose Ray finds his own faith in himself and his profession restored.
Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
