• These are a few of my favorite things. . . that happened while interviewing celebs • Notorious B.I.G. almost ruined an interview with his eyes closed • The guy from Fountains of Wayne versus the guy from Wayne, N.J. Brian Wilson Brian Wilson was still under the spell of a weird therapist, Eugene Landy, … Continue reading Odds and Sods – Brian Wilson, Biggie Smalls, Bob Dylan, Tupac, Snoop, Rodman, Will Smith
Tag: CNN Showbiz Today
CNN Showbiz Today
• Old saying in the business: “Sports is the toy store of journalism.” If that’s true, then what's news about entertainment? • Would there be no turning back? Would the journalism gate-keepers ever let me back into the hard news fraternity? • I'm a part of CNN at its post-Gulf War peak During my time … Continue reading CNN Showbiz Today
Happy Birthday, Barbra
• Why she found Grammy world friendlier than Oscar land. • The Prince of Tides junket revisited. Can you spot the error? • Shooting her “through the grease.” I lumped Barbra Streisand into a category of diva, along with Beyoncè, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, and the Spice Girls in a blog … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Barbra
Missing a Role Model
• Danny Schechter, the News Dissector • In 1973, I wanted to work for him. In 1997, I focused CNN on him • In 2020, I miss him I was driving a cab in Boston in 1973, after my first taste of doing radio news in Toledo, Ohio, ended abruptly. I listened to WBCN-FM, as … Continue reading Missing a Role Model
Shadow and Light: Marty Scorsese
• The Irishman and the Dalai Lama – the director’s dualism • Talking peace and love with the guy who brought us Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino • In 1997, Hollywood and China were engaged in a moral trade war If you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s latest, The Irishman, you know he’s still at the … Continue reading Shadow and Light: Marty Scorsese
What the Hell is Interactive Music?
• Predicting the future . . . and getting it wrong • How’s your home CD maker deck performing? • The drawbacks of analog crystal balls In the early 1990s the music industry was on the verge of an existential crisis. And not everybody knew it. Analog recording had given way to digital and while … Continue reading What the Hell is Interactive Music?
Deconstructing the News Conference
• 32 years ago, news conferences were different. Or not • You can tell it’s 1987 by the big hair • Alert: This is a thumb-sucker. A think-piece. Deep, very deep In 1987, an executive producer at CNN was frequently calling in ABC Radio News’ Reporter-on-the-Road (me) to hold forth on TV about such matters … Continue reading Deconstructing the News Conference
Odds and Sods – Brian Wilson, Biggie Smalls, Oasis, Bob Dylan
• These are a few of my favorite things. . . that happened while interviewing celebs • Notorious B.I.G. almost ruins an interview with his eyes closed • The guy from Fountains of Wayne versus the guy from Wayne, N.J. Brian Wilson was still under the spell of a weird therapist, Eugene Landy, and extremely … Continue reading Odds and Sods – Brian Wilson, Biggie Smalls, Oasis, Bob Dylan
Showbiz Today, CNN – Pt. 1
• Which do you choose, a hard or soft option . . . in news? • Old saying in the business: “Sports is the toy store of journalism.” If that’s true, then what's news about entertainment? • Would there be no turning back? Would the journalism gate-keepers ever let me back into the hard news … Continue reading Showbiz Today, CNN – Pt. 1
Reality Bites
• TV news once took Darwinism to a silly extreme • A pox on the medium gave Pax TV (R.I.P.) a far-fetched idea about hiring • Who was their HR guy, Jeff Probst? I despise so-called “reality TV.” Not just because it is supposedly “unscripted” and resulted in the elimination of jobs for writers in … Continue reading Reality Bites