Peter Kaye, veteran reporter, commentator and self-anointed political hack, has written an autobiography that takes the reader on a sometimes wild, sometimes meandering ride through the author's 80 years. Keeping up with Kaye is challenging, as he bounces from decade to decade and back again. However, if you hang in for the entire trip, the reward is a collection of revealing anecdotes about his colleagues, political clients, sources and subjects -- and Kaye's observations of the last half of the 20th century.
Kaye first recounts his youth: an absent and disappointing father; his mother's struggles to make it through the Depression as a single parent; Tom Sawyer-like summers in Laguna Beach; a walk-on role by Carl Sandburg as an impromptu babysitter (although why he was visiting Kaye's mother remains a mystery); and Kaye's college and military service years. However, it is the chapters about Kaye's long and storied career that give his book an audience beyond family and friends. Although Kaye expresses dedication to the role of "Contrarian," the title of his self-published book, he reveals in the latter chapters an evolving and funny professional, capable of compassion, pragmatism, a bit of vengeance, and self-deprecating humor.
For instance, Kaye describes his relationship in the late 1960s with the new manager at KEBS (predecessor of San Diego public television station KPBS): "Summerfield disliked me from the start. Usually that doesn't happen until people get to know me. â- Fearful of losing their jobs, the senior staff gave me no support, but younger members backed me 100 percent. One of them said a woman I'd hired as the station's publicity director was conniving for my job. I laughed it off but he was right. She's still there. Before Summerfield could fire me, I quit to help run Assemblyman Peter Wilson's campaign for mayor [of San Diego]."
Kaye has a satisfying ability to put together a nice anecdote that pokes fun at himself while sharing a piece of history -- and the occasional and artfully tossed barb, at those who've done him, others or the nation wrong, adds some nice punch. He writes mostly in the dry and analysis-free style of classic reportage, seasoned with his equally dry wit. He generously shares tales of his life and the plenitude of politicians, newspaper and television reporters, wannabees and scoundrels whose paths he crossed during his 55-year career. He delineates egos and excesses, triumphs and failures, petty competitions and contributions to the complex and symbiotic world of politics and the news media.
People who worked with Kaye in one capacity or another are likely to rifle through the book in search of their own names, and many will not be disappointed. Kaye writes about politicians for whom he worked who made it big, such as Richard Nixon, Pete Wilson and Gerald Ford, and those who didn't quite achieve their desired electoral heights, such as Hugh Flournoy (a California Assembly member and controller, and failed gubernatorial candidate) and Robert Finch (a lieutenant governor of California, Nixon cabinet member and failed U.S. Senate candidate).
Kaye also recalls the colleagues he hired or was hired by; those he worked or competed with during his career. He began at the Alhambra Post-Advocate, coursed through several political campaigns, a stint with public television and various incarnations of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and he spent the final years at the North County Times, commenting on happenings in and around Del Mar, his hometown. The list of colleagues he gathered along the way is long -- including such notables as Jim Lehrer, Jack Kemp, Lyn Nofziger, Herb Klein, many of whom crossed the variegated line between politics and reporting it, as Kaye did.
Kaye writes, "In more than 40 years, I was able to change careers and maintain my credibility. My time as a political hack provided insight, which helped my reporting, and my newspaper and television experience made me more useful to candidates. The combination gave me a sense of proportion. I learned yesterday's adversaries were today's allies, and vice versa."
Despite Kaye's good humor about his career, in the final pages of "Contrarian" he laments the state of journalism: "Since its peak 40 years ago, readership in the United States has dropped precipitously. â- The chief culprits are the newspaper moguls themselves, whose greed and stupidity created and still exacerbate the problem. â- It's infuriating today to see dedicated reporters and broadcasters lose their jobs, and it's sad when promising youngsters avoid journalism because the opportunities and rewards are so limited."
But journalism has not yet been abandoned by the young, and for them "Contrarian" is a handy survey course on 20th century California and presidential politics and the fourth Estate, taught by a well-storied professor.
For politicians and political junkies, the book is a detailed reminder of the ways in which politics and the news media remain dichotomous bedfellows.
For Kaye's family and other intimates, "Contrarian" is a trip to be treasured for generations.
Kit-Bacon Gressitt is a writer, editor and host of Fallbrook's monthly Writers Read open mic readings. She can be reached at kbgressitt@aol.com.
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"Contrarian"
Author: Peter Kaye
Publisher: BookSurge
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 260
Price: $18.99
