Gloss

by Jennifer Oko

Book Overview

It's a new day, U.S.A. And possibly a whole new world. It was a harmless human-interest story for breakfast television: who would've thought it would land her in jail? New York producer Annabelle Kapner's report on a beauty-industry job-creation plan for refugee women in the Middle East earns her kudos from the viewers, her bosses, even the network suits. But several threatening phone calls and tightlipped, edgy executives suggest the cosmetics program...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778325598
• ISBN13: 9780778325598
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

News You Can Use!!!!

Ouch! Ms. Oko has really nailed the shallow trench of network morning news and it stings. Only an insider like herself could weave a tale that rings so true. One part CONSTANT GARDNER and two parts BROADCAST NEWS, it makes for a great read.

Entertaining Behind the Scenes Peek at AM News

Intrigue on a morning news show? Not at all what New York producer Annabelle Kapner could have ever imagined when she produced a human interest story on a cosmetic industry plan to create jobs for women in the refugee camps of the Middle East. Well, it had gotten her a date with the ultra sexy and most eligible bachelor in Washington, D.C., political speechwriter, Mark Thurber along with a small taste of being in the limelight, but nothing to prepare her for what was to come. After some very weird phone messages and e-mails Annie began to realize her report was about to change her life and not necessarily for the better! Researching later for a follow-up segment on the cosmetic story Annie would be arrested by Homeland Security when found snooping in the wrong office at the wrong time landing her in cell block 6 in Federal Prison. *** In a fresh and witty new look at the real deal behind a stereotypical news station, Jennifer Oko, a real life producer on one of Americas top news shows not only pokes fun, but also reveals the shady dealings networks war over getting the major ratings. Written primarily in the first person, with a self deprecating sense of humor the reader will find themselves chuckling throughout the story bringing to life some truly funny stereotypical news people from the witchy morning diva Faith Heide, to beleaguered executive producers, as well as some of the underhanded ways `bookers' attempt to procure guests. Not only will you find some hilarious moments with Annie but her Slavic smart-mouth cell-mate Galina, who actually slaps sense into Annie, will have you rolling on the floor. It also delivers a thoughtful look at how one must balance ratings over journalistic integrity. Presented in a smartly well-written, off-the-cuff style, Oko writes a novel both genders will get a kick out of in this "Glossgate" tale full of intrigue, political corruption and hilarious inmate humor. While the coverup behind the lip gloss, the horror of the testing, and the motive behind it adds to the conflict, the behind the scenes revelations have given this reader a better appreciation of my favorite Morning news shows. Witty and entertaining, this delicious debut is a recommended read for all. Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

Smartly written, devilishly fun summer read

What you want in a beach read is something light but still worthwhile, a book that's smart and well-written but by someone who gets that a the hilarious, running internal monologue a rising career girl has as she fakes her way through her day is just as important as, say, learning how the TV news industry works. With this book, you get both. Think Scrubs meets Murphy Brown meets Dateline meets The West Wing. You'll never watch morning TV the same way again.

A meaningful, topical satire

This, it seems to me, is a book with appeal even wider than the "chick lit" genre it is billed as. I'm not a chick and don't read much lit, but found this to be an entertaining and revealing look through what for most people are closed, bolted, chained-shut doors: that portal into Washigton politics and journalism. The story is both commentary on and parody of recent court battles that pit the government, journalists and their sources against each other. Jennifer Oko has great fun and channels the shrewdest political satirists of our day.

Deliciously dishy!

Annabelle Kapner becomes the very news she reports when a harmless little human interest story about a beauty industry job creation plan for refugee women in the Middle East goes terribly out of control. An insider's peek at the world of morning news television, DC politics and, of course, lip gloss, you won't be able to put GLOSS by Jennifer Oko down. Filled with tons of fun details gathered, no doubt, by the author's own experiences in morning television, you'll have a blast reading GLOSS, and not just for the guessing game of "who's really who" in the large cast of characters that inhabit Annabelle's world. A deliciously dishy and irresistible tale! - Brenda Janowitz, author of Scot On The Rocks (Red Dress Ink Novels)