“The story started as a screenplay,” Davis recalls. “But we got frustrated because he had done all this research, and I kept trying to develop the characters and and the realities of how they would behave. So we decided to make it a book—there’s no page limit issues that way!”
We spoke with Biggers and Davis about blending fact and fiction and they’re feelings about the current state of journalism in America.
[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]
One of the things I appreciate about the book is that—like an in-depth newspaper or magazine feature—it starts with a small incident and then pulls back to encompass a wider point of view. It reflects both of your experience as journalists.
Andrew Davis: Well, journalism is in a strange state right now. I was just reading about ABC News’ settlement over George Stephanopoulos‘ comments about Donald Trump. The idea that everybody’s got to kiss the ring of the new president in order not to get subjugated to restrictions or lose their licenses is pretty amazing. I think back to being a college student and listening to Walter Cronkite. When he came out against the Vietnam War, it was over! It took a long time, but it did happen. Who’s the next Cronkite now?
Jeff Biggers: In our story, the media plays a role during the summit in Chicago, but we also have this rogue general who is able to create disinformation through technology. Ultimately, people don’t know what’s real anymore. We wanted to tease readers with the idea that we’ve reached this age where it’s hard to tell what’s true and not true. The ability to create [disinformation] and disseminate it is a really powerful and dangerous situation.
It didn’t escape my attention that the general goes on Fox News to propagate his argument. Jeff, you’ve been a guest on several of the news networks—where does Fox fit in your impression of the current media landscape?
Biggers: It’s hard to say, because there are so many offshoots of Fox now that are becoming as important. I’m more concerned about our side of the aisle in terms of news media getting watered down and people not plugging in and listening anymore. The listenership of NPR has dramatically gone down, and after the election you saw MSNBC just kind of plummet. People are getting a lot of their information from social media, and that’s not very in-depth.
