Gay Talese and Max Linsky

This Gay Talese interview, conducted in October of 2013 by Max Linsky, co-founder of Longform.org, revisits many of Talese's favorite interview themes, starting with the importance of his background on his interview and reportorial technique, his sense of self-presentation and his curiosity about and appreciation for minor characters. In these video chapters, he talks about his friendships, his favorites among his many published works (not "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,"), how he approached the industry and his work, when things didn't go his way, and how he views the state of journalism today.

Chapter 1: On Making a Good Impression

On Making a Good Impression
On Writing About Joe Gerardi for the New Yorker
On Sinatra and Access
On the Version of Sinatra He Annotated in 2013
On the Esquire Contract, the Best Piece He Ever Wrote, and The Kingdom and The Power
On Why "Mr. Bad News" Was His Best Piece
On DiMaggio, Al Goldstein, Bill Bonnano, Dignity and Respect
Where are the Halberstams and Salisburys Today?
How Would You Get your Start if You Graduated Now?
How Do You Develop Trust?
Does Being Gay Talese Make it Harder?
Do General Readers Read Differently Than Journalists? Who Do You Write For?
On Getting Turned Down
On the Pain of Criticism
On the State of Magazines and the Press
On His Contretemps with David Halberstam
On Friendship and Still Talking Shop
On His Two Biggest Achievements and a Failing
On His Own Obit
On Tape Recorders and Quotes
On Keeping Archives
Q & A (1)
Q & A (2)
Q & A (3)
Q & A (4)