Super-Manny Mike Ruggles fills in for Supernanny: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

As a middle school girls soccer coach, I enjoy working with kids and their parents, But not, I suspect, enough to want to be Jo Frost, the star of the ABC TV series “Supernanny.” And while it would be tempting to be called “Super-Manny,” the title that falls to her associate Mike Ruggles, I don’t think I’d want to be him, either.

That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch on Friday, January 29 @ 8 p.m. when Ruggles takes over the show for an episode of parenting, “Wally World” style.

In this very special episode of “Supernanny” titled “Super-Manny Special: Griswold Family,” Ruggles might meet just his match in a family of real-life Griswolds. That’s right, the Griswolds—just like in my favorite holiday movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "When they brought me in, they thought it might be good angle to work with Dad. They were centered on Dad, but it turned out the whole family needed work." 

Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Chris Gorham, actor, UGLY BETTY, COVERT AFFAIRS: Mr Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

If you’ve ever watched ABC’s romantic dramedy “Ugly Betty,” you know that Betty’s boyfriend Henry will always be the one who got away.

And came back.

And got away again.

The actor who plays “Henry” is Chris Gorham, a busy young man who is a husband, a father, and host of “ACME Saturday Night” this Saturday, January 30. You can watch the online comedy TV show streaming live online @ http://www.acmecomedy.com at 10 pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific.

(Moments before this interview began, Variety announced that "Ugly Betty" would wrap up the series in its remaining episodes, so that's where the conversation begins...)


Follow Chris Gorham on Twitter

LISTEN! Mr. Media's January 2010 interview with Ana Ortiz and Tony Plana

AUDIO EXCERPT: "I feel bad for everyone on the show. Silvio Horta wanted to tell the story in five years... at least the audience will get a proper ending. But I feel bad for my friends at 'Ugly Betty.'" 

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Tom Weschler, photographer, road manager, TRAVELIN' MAN: BOB SEGER: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Somehow, in all the years I was a rock ‘n’ roll critic for either the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune or Music magazine in the 1980s, I never saw Bob Seger live.

For the life of me, I can’t explain it. I certainly wanted to see him; he’s one of those guys—like Springsteen, Joel and Mellencamp—who always spoke to me.

When I was a freshman at the University of Miami, back in ’78, I worked at the college radio station, WVUM, doing air shifts as a DJ and producing dozens of public service announcements. I almost always chose Seger songs as background music.

And the day I drove away from school at the end of freshman year, back to Jersey, my friend Bob and I only had one 8-track tape to entertain us as we took turns driving non-stop—Live Bullet.

That’s why I tracked down Tom Weschler as a guest for the show. He was Seger’s road manager—and unofficial tour photographer—for the first decade or so of Seger’s four-decade career and has frequently dropped back in on his old friend’s career at key moments.

Now—with the help of writer Gary Graff—Weschler has produced Travelin’ Man, a coffee table book of photos and memories that no Seger fan will want to live without.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "In 1978, Bob Seger was playing four sold-out nights in Pine Knob, Michigan, and Bruce Springsteen came to town and wanted to meet Bob. I set it up and I said to Bob's bodyguard—who I hired back in 1971— 'Do me a favor and keep all the other photographers out of here for 10 minutes, will ya?' And I got my shot." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Elisabeth Leamy, consumer reporter, ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

The last two years have been horribly stressful on the wallets and pocketbooks of Americans, rich and poor. There have been days when most of us felt we were in a financial hole from which we’d never climb out.

To be sure, there are still plenty of challenges ahead and many of our friends, family and neighbors are unemployed, struggling to make ends meet.

There are two sure things we can do in situations like these: 1) Take any job that provides at least some income to pay the bills; and 2) Cut back on expenses.

This is where “Good Morning America” consumer reporter Elisabeth Leamy can help. In addition to her regular reports on the ABC morning show, Elisabeth just published a new book called Save Big! It’s packed with an array of clever ideas to save a lot of money in this time of need.

(Elisabeth Leamy's website)

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Don't take another 30-year mortgage. Use the savings you get from the lower interest rate and roll those savings into a shorter mortgage. Your payment, often, is not any higher, but you're paying more aggressively and savings tens of thousands of dollars." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!








MORE MR. MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONAL JOURNALISTS

• Miles O’Brien (CNN American Mornings)
• Lane DeGregory (2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Writing, St. Petersburg Times)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, April 2009)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, March 2009)
• Paul Gillin (blogger, NewspaperDeathWatch.com)
• Rene Syler (co-host, CBS “Early Show”; author, “Good Enough Mother)
• Karen Dunlap (president, Poynter Institute)
• Clay Bennett (Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist)
• Laurel Touby (Mediabistro.com founder, socializer-in-chief)
• Marlise Kast (Tabloid Prodigy, Globe magazine)
• Jeff Kreisler (My Wall Street Journal; Indecision 2008)
• Bill Adair (Politifact.com; St. Petersburg Times)
• Alberto Ibargüen (Knight Foundation)
• Sree Sreenivasan (Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; WNBC-TV)
• Eric Deggans (St. Petersburg Times The Feed blog)
• Eric Deggans and Aaron Barnhart (St. Petersburg Times/The Feed, Kansas City Star/TVBarn.com)
• Howard Finberg (NewsU)
• Dave Jones (The New York Times)
• Pete Hamill (New York Daily News, The Drinking Life)
• Chuck Shepherd (News of the Weird)

Ashanti, singer, EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION guest: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Here are two pop culture references I never thought I’d make in the same sentence: ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Grammy Award winner Ashanti.

But this Sunday, the delicate, carefully crafted singer will be a special guest star alongside the sometimes shrill Ty Pennington as “Extreme Makeover.”

Sounds crazy, right?

What’s a beautiful girl like her doing on a construction site with the likes of him? Good question! Let’s find out.

(Follow Ashanti on Twitter!)

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Delores Powell has such a power about her, a strength. For me to be able to do something positive for her, it was a blessing... Who can sit back and watch without doing anything?"

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Janina Gavankar, actress, THE L WORD: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

I honestly had no idea how popular actress Janina Gavankar was the first time she appeared on Mr. Media Radio, but the star of Showtime’s long-running “The L Word” caused quite a buzz. That show (CLICK HERE to LISTEN!) is still one of the most popular in our archives.

So when the opportunity to have the stunningly beautiful actress return to the show and catch us up on her career, of course, I said “Yes.”

Since the end of “The L Word”—and “L” referred to lesbian, of which Janina is not, but she played one on TV—she’s made a lot of high-profile TV guest appearances, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dollhouse,” “The Cleaner” and “The League.”

She’s also shot parts in several upcoming movies, including Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Never heard of it? I suspect you will; it’s an animated film featuring the voices of both Captain Kirks (Chris Pine and William Shatner), as well as Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), plus SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny), Seinfeld’s George (Jason Alexander), and Janina, of course.

Janina is also the guest star of the new, unscripted, online TV show from ACME Comedy called "Hollywood Dream Role." It streams live at www.acmecomedy.com tonight, Friday, January 22nd, at Midnight Eastern / 9 p.m. Pacific.

There’s no doubt that Janina’s enjoying that Mr. Media Radio bump, right? Let’s see what we can do for her today.

Follow Janina Gavankar on Twitter or Facebook!

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Anyone who knows me knows that I am pretty big geek, so I was pretty excited to be a guest at Comic-Con to promote Quantum Quest. It was the coolest experience any geekgirl could have." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Howard J. Morris, Jenny Lee, co-authors, TV sitcom writers, WOMEN ARE CRAZY, MEN ARE STUPID: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee didn’t just co-author the new book Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid, they actually live together as a couple.

My experience, many years removed, is that working on a book with my spouse, a gifted editor, wa s that to continue doing so would generate the title, “Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid… Couple is Divorced.”

But I digress.

Morris and Lee have an advantage over most couples who might put themselves in the position of exposing the intricacies of an interpersonal relationship. They’re professional TV comedy writers so zingers and comebacks are all part of a day’s work.

Howard began his career writing for one of my favorite HBO series of all time, “Dream On” and later wrote for “Home Improvement,” “My Wife and Kids,” “According to Jim” and “The Starter Wife.”

Jenny was a writer on one of my wife’s favorite shows, "Samantha Who?" And is the author of three humor collections, including Skinny Bitching.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "As we were writing, I kept thinking, 'This would be a great episode!' Once the book got a really good response, we sold a pilot to ABC. It was the best early Christmas present ever. And now we have to cast people as ourselves." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Get to know Mr. Media's host and producer, Bob Andelman

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Since February 2007, Bob Andelman has  produced and hosted the  popular “Mr. Media Radio” celebrity and media newsmaker online interview show heard on his own site, as well as syndicated to TrueSlant, BlogTalkRadio, Poynter Online, Podfeed.Net, Podcast.De, Blubrry, Zencast, Zimbio, LimeCast, Vox, Podcast Alley and Odeo. The show averages approximately 1,000 visitors/archive downloads a day.

Andelman is also the author or co-author of several best-selling biographical, business, management and sports books, including:

• The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths (Hyperion/Voice, May 2010), written with nationally recognized criminal profiler and frequent CNN contributor Pat Brown. The book will be excerpted in the April 2010 issue of Reader’s Digest.

• Four Seasons: The Philosophy of a Business (Portfolio/Penguin, 2009), by Isadore Sharp, founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Andelman did not author or co-author this book but came in and helped Sharp near the end of the writing process by conducting dozens of interviews with Four Seasons managers and executives and contributing additional material to the finished manuscript.

• Fans Not Customers (Portfolio Penguin, ----), written with Commerce Bank founder and chairman Vernon W. Hill II, was completed and accepted by the publisher in May 2007 and in typesetting when Hill was forced out of the bank.

• Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (Dark Horse/M Press, 2005), the biography of the legendary artist and writer who is often credited with taking comic books out of the ghetto in the 1940s and establishing the market for adult, long-form comics – graphic novels – in the 1970s. A Spirited Life has been translated for Spanish and Italian editions. Andelman also read for the audiobook edition. http://www.aspiritedlife.com 

• The Profit Zone: Lessons of Strategic Genius from the People Who Created the World’s Most Valued Companies (Times Books/Random House, 1997), with Adrian Slywotzky and David Morrison, partners in Boston-based Mercer Management. The Profit Zone is Andelman’s best selling book overall with more than 100,000 hardcover copies in print after 10 printings. Worldwide, The Profit Zone has been translated into Chinese (Complex and Simplified), Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

• Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion (Times Books/Random House, 1999), on which he collaborated with Home Depot co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Kramer endorsed the timelessness of Built From Scratch when he told his viewing audience, “Built from Scratch is the best of all those business biographies.” Built From Scratch was translated for a Japanese edition.

• Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great (Times Books/Random House, 1996), with Albert J. Dunlap, chairman and CEO of Sunbeam. Published in hardcover, paperback and audiocassette. Mean Business was a finalist in the Financial Times of London Global Business Book Awards.

For more information:
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobandelman
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andelman
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/andelman

Contact Mr. Media Radio

Send an email to Mr. Media Radio

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Christina Milian, actress, BRING IT ON: FIGHT TO THE FINISH: Mr. Media Radio Interview

Actress Christina Milian, image via Wikipedia

By BOB ANDELMAN

Everything I know about cheerleading, I learned in high school.

Well, duhhhhhh!

Put another way, I know nothing about cheerleading. I didn’t date any cheerleaders, barely even spoke to them. What would we have talked about, anyway?

But, I must hasten to add, I did finish second in voting for prom king in my senior year, so it’s not like I was completely on the outskirts of high school society.

And, actually, I do know a few things about cheerleaders: they work very hard to learn their routines and rhythms. And just by being cheerleaders, they’re probably the most envied and scorned students in school.

I also know that the Bring It On film franchise has been hugely successful and that the latest installment, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish will air on ABC Family Channel this Sunday, January 17 at 8 p.m.—following a 6-hour Bring-It-On-a-thon that afternoon

Joining me to talk about the film is one of its stars, Christina Milian. If you have kids, they probably will remember her as Tina from Disney Channel's "Movie Surfers."

AUDIO EXCERPT: "I definitely like to work. But for the movie I had to learn 20 routines in one month... There is a lot more Latin- and hip-hop-infused choreography in this Bring It On."

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Jimmy Kimmel DESTROYS Jay Leno as a guest on 10@10 (The Jay Leno Show 1/14/10)

Hitler Learns Leno Is Moving Back To Late Night (VIDEO)

I'm With Coco #TeamConan

Thomas E. Sniegoski, LEGACY young adult author: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

One of the most daring challenges in writing novels for young adults is transferring the four-color escapades of superheroes to narrative form and still retaining the boldness ad glory of the comic book medium—while adding meat to the bones of the structure.

I think Thomas E. Sniegoski (website) accomplished that—and more—with his new novel Legacy, detailing the generational handover of the “Raptor” crown.

Legacy is a rip-snorting good roll in the costumed character hay, adult enough to pull teens and fanboys along into slightly more mature literature while still capturing the intrigue and answering questions about powers and abilities in the “real” world.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "The whole adult thing? I gave up on that nonsense a long time ago. That's boring! I'm gonna write about monsters!" 

Of course, Sniegoski should be able to pull this off: he’s successfully written for both genres, young adult novels and comic books, for many years. He is the author of the Fallen books, where wee adapted into a TV movie for ABC Family Channel, as well as the Sleeper and Owlboy series. He has also written comic books for everyone from Marvel, Image and Dark Horse to Crusade and London Night Studios

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Michael Uslan, comic book writer, ARCHIE MARRIES BETTY: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

I remember the first time I encountered Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, Mr. Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Hot Dog and the rest of the Riverdale gang. It was in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1971, and we were visiting our cousins, the Sirotkins.

Fred Sirotkin, the youngest of the three children, had a basement filled with shelf after shelf of neatly ordered comic books. It was nirvana for me—and probably still would be, if not for the great flood that hit Wilkes-Barre a year later, obliterating Fred’s collection and everything else in the wall of water’s path.

Fast-forward to January 2010 and America’s oldest teenager, Archie Andrews—sorry, Dick Clark—has graduated college and announced his engagement to Betty Cooper.

The writer of this six-part Archie Comics series, which takes us through the characters’ future, is as much a surprise, perhaps, as Archie choosing girl-next-door Betty over girl-with-a billion-bucks Veronica. His name is Michael Uslan, and while he’s written a few comic books before, he’s based known as an executive producer behind some of the biggest comic book movies of all time, including Batman and The Dark Knight.

This is Michael’s second visit to Mr. Media Radio; he was previously a guest to discuss The Spirit movie, of which he was a producer.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Yes, we take the Archie story one step beyond anything it's ever been taken before... This has become a firestorm on the Internet on a worldwide basis. The Today Show took a poll on who Archie should marry. It was 80% Betty, 20% Veronica--and Jughead came in a strong third." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!


MORE COMIC BOOK CREATOR INTERVIEWS WITH MR. MEDIA RADIO!

• Dave Gibbons (Watchmen)
• Monte Wolverton (The Wolverton Bible)
• Craig Yoe (Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster)
• Gary Groth, Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
• Mark Wheatley, Robert Tinnell (EZ Street, Lone Justice)
• Gene Colan (Iron Man,” “Daredevil,” “Howard the Duck,” “Batman)
• Bill Schelly (Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert)
• Mike Gold (ComicMix.com editor)
• Blake Bell (Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, I Have to Live With This Guy!)
• Darwyn Cooke... (The Spirit)
• Daniel Pink (The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind)
• Jonathan Riggs (Prism Comics: Your Guide to LGBT Comics)
• Arie Kaplan (Speed Racer, MAD Magazine)
• Paul Fitzgerald, Cindy Jackson and Stuart Henderson (Will Eisner & PS Magazine)
• Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Superman, Superman on the Couch)
• Wendy Pini and Richard Pini (Elfquest, Masque of the Red Death)
• Pete Von Sholly (Capitol Hell, Morbid)
• Joe Sinnott (Fantastic Four, Brush Strokes with Greatness)
• Chuck Dixon (The Simpsons Comics)
• Peter Kuper (Stop Forgetting to Remember)
• Trina Robbins (The Brinkley Girls, 2009)
• Trina Robbins (GoGirl! 2008)
• Drew Friedman (Old Jewish Comedians)
• Dennis O'Neil (Batman)
• Mike Richardson (Dark Horse Comics)
• Aaron Warner (The Adventures of Aaron)
• Jim Lee (Heroes Reborn)
• David Hajdu (The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare)
• Howard Chaykin (American Flagg)
• Gary Chaloner (John Law)
• Gary Chaloner (John Law podcast)

Jeff Herman, GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLISHERS, EDITORS, LITERARY AGENTS author: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

This is a tough time to be a writer, whether you’re on the staff of a newspaper or magazine or an independent like myself. Layoffs and budgets cuts are impacting virtually everyone I know; there are no sure things in the writing game these days.

But two things are unchanged: people are actually reading more than ever and everybody still thinks their life story would either make a great book or they’re capable of writing The Next Great American Novel.

Make that three things: One of the best resources for the established or wannabe book author is still keeping a copy of Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents on your desk. The 2010 edition is hot off the press.

I have recommended Herman’s book to authors in much the same way I recommend the Writer’s Market from Writer’s Digest to freelance writers interested in exploring article writing. Both are invaluable desktop references, one best for books, one for articles.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Most agents are looking for tomorrow's clients. Part of the thrill for me as an agent is looking for tomorrow's clients." 

As for Herman, this isn’t even his day job—he makes the bulk of his living from representing writers as a literary agent.

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Ben Johnson, author, MONEY TALKS: BULLSH*T WALKS, Sam Zell bio: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

In retrospect, I can see why real estate billionaire Sam Zell thought buying the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and all their related newspapers and media companies—plus the Chicago Cubs baseball team and its home, Wrigley Field—seemed like a classic ploy.

Buy a big family-owned business on the skids for a discount, squeeze out greater efficiencies from its processes and earn back your purchase price by selling its more valuable assets individually. After that, whatever is left is gravy.

Zell probably thought he was getting in at the bottom. Unfortunately for everyone, the bottom was still years and millions away. That, and the era of leveraging mountains of debt was coming to a crashing halt.

Reading Ben Johnson’s new business biography, Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks: Inside the Contrarian Mind of Billionaire Sam Zell, we get a much better, more favorable understanding of Zell’s thinking and a clearer sense of why he did the deal he did and why it was probably destined to fail.

Gotta love hindsight.

The key takeaway from the book for me: Zell may be an unrestrained Chicago loudmouth, but the lords of American newspapers should have taken his ideas more seriously and the way he expressed himself a little less so. In many ways, he was—and continues to be—right about what ails their industry and could save it and they’re wrong.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "In 2007, the death of newspapers had been talked about for years... Sam Zell thought he could go in and rally the troops. But the media world is a different world. I think the pushback took him by surprise... He's a learned man but he has the lexicon of Howard Stern." 

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Don't miss these Mr. Media Radio interviews with journalists:

• Miles O’Brien (CNN American Mornings)
• Lane DeGregory (2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Writing, St. Petersburg Times)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, April 2009)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, March 2009)
• Paul Gillin (blogger, NewspaperDeathWatch.com)
• Rene Syler (co-host, CBS “Early Show”; author, “Good Enough Mother)
• Karen Dunlap (president, Poynter Institute)
• Clay Bennett (Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist)
• Laurel Touby (Mediabistro.com founder, socializer-in-chief)
• Marlise Kast (Tabloid Prodigy, Globe magazine)
• Jeff Kreisler (My Wall Street Journal; Indecision 2008)
• Bill Adair (Politifact.com; St. Petersburg Times)
• Alberto Ibargüen (Knight Foundation)
• Sree Sreenivasan (Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; WNBC-TV)
• Eric Deggans (St. Petersburg Times The Feed blog)
• Eric Deggans and Aaron Barnhart (St. Petersburg Times/The Feed, Kansas City Star/TVBarn.com)
• Howard Finberg (NewsU)
• Dave Jones (The New York Times)
• Pete Hamill (New York Daily News, The Drinking Life)
• Chuck Shepherd (News of the Weird)

Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Tony Isabella, 1,000 COMIC BOOKS YOU MUST READ historian: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

I remember the day I met Tony Isabella back in the mid-1970s.

I was in the back of my friend Bob Pinaha’s brown Ford Pinto—the car in which I later learned to drive—and we drove to Newark International Airport to pick up Tony for an appearance at a comic book convention we organized.

I was a star-struck teen fanboy—Isabella was a writer and editor for Marvel Comics! How cool was that?

Wish I could remember something that Tony and Bob discussed in the car that day, but after “Hello,” the rest is just a blur.

We’ve crossed paths a few times since then, most recently when Isabella wrote a more than kind review of my Will Eisner biography for the Comics Buyers Guide. And now it’s my opportunity to return the favor.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Superheroes have always been a big part of it but I wanted to show how many different kind of comics there have been. I wanted to show every genre; there is a comic in there on colitis!" 

Tony just published a new book, 1,000 Comic Books You Must Read, and it’s a four-color, four-star, polished gem. I’ve had such a good time reliving so many fun comics of my acne-blemished past while paging through this coffee table book. If you love comics, you’ve gotta get this guide. (Website)

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Ana Ortiz, Tony Plana, UGLY BETTY ABC TV stars: Mr. Media Radio Interview

Ana Ortiz, "Ugly Betty," image via Wikipedia

By BOB ANDELMAN

The big news is that ABC’s sexy, fashion-funny romcom “Ugly Betty” is moving to Wednesday nights at 10 p.m.

And while I understand that surviving a Friday night timeslot on network TV is like getting a stay of execution from the governor, in the digital age, I have to wonder if timeslots matter at all. Or is my family the only one recording “Betty” on a DVR and watching it at our convenience instead of the network’s?

Of course not.

Anyway, to celebrate the new time slot, I’m being joined by Betty’s older sister, Hilda, played by the red-hot chica, Ana Ortiz, and Betty’s distinguished and wise Papi, played by Tony Plana.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Oh, my gosh! The show comes from a novella in Colombia. When it ended, the had the character of Betty get together with the Daniel Meade character. The country when bananas and was furious about it. The said Betty would never fall in love with this guy! Betty is going to evolve, but not into Cinderella." 

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Wooldridge Brothers, DAYS WENT AROUND musicians: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

There’s not much better than being introduced to new music that instantly catches your fancy. That’s the way I felt when I first heard cuts from the Wooldridge Brothers new CD, Days Went Around.

The twin guitar sound of Scott and Brian Wooldridge offers something you don’t hear in a lot of modern music: optimism. It’s cheery and hopeful with plenty of clever wordplay in between.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "The Wooldridge Brothers sound is something we collaborate on through the Internet... We do a lot of separate recording and pass the files back and forth." 

If you don’t already know the Wooldridge Brothers, never fear: I’ll be spinning a handful of songs from their latest album. You can also hear more at their website, WooldridgeBrothers.com or on MySpace.

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Geoff Becker, SHOCKER TOYS founder, acting CEO: Mr. Media Radio Interview

Image of Shocker Toys

By BOB ANDELMAN

A six-inch action figure of Will Eisner’s The Spirit has a permanent place of honor on my desk.

Mixed in among some family photographs on a table to my right is an oddly transparent, 12-inch Spider-Man action figure and, next to him, a 12-inch talking Silver Surfer—although the batteries are apparently dead.

In the hallway, where most of our books are shelved, is a 9-inch high growling Incredible Hulk, and a 12-inch set of the original TV Green Hornet and Kato.

Out in the garage, still in boxes, are at least a dozen female action figures that I bought for my daughter when she was a baby, thinking she might one day like to play with them.

She didn’t.

The point of all this? I like action figures. Which is why I invited Geoff Beckett, acting CEO of Shocker Toys, to be my guest today.

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Ray Billingsley, A BOY NAMED CURTIS cartoonist: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

There are a number of daily newspaper comic strips that we tend to take for granted. “Cathy,” by Cathy Guisewite, is one. Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi & Lois” are two more.

And then there is my friend Ray Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis.”

“Curtis” shares the adventures of a young African-American boy whose age I’d put at about 10 or 11, dealing with life in his community. He’s chasing—unsuccessfully—girls, being chased—successfully—by bullies, struggling with his dad’s cheapness and smoking… in other words, all the stuff boys his age do.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "The strip is a lighthearted tale about a boy. That's all it is. It's just that one little factor that turns publishers off. I still go through, 'Well, blacks don't really read this stuff and whites don't get it.'"

But because the character is black, it sometimes seems like his creator, Billingsley, doesn’t always get the opportunities or recognition that other men and women in his field do.

One example: publication of his collected works.

The last time Billingsley was a guest on my show, back in April 2007, he revealed his frustration with the cartoonists establishment and book publishing. Today, there is a new development on that front: publication of the first “Curtis” collection: A Boy Named Curtis. (Visit Ray Billingsley's website!)

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Larry Harris, THE INSIDE STORY OF CASABLANCA RECORDS author, executive: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Everybody thinks their life story would make a good book.

I’m here to tell you that’s not true.

But Larry Harris is not everybody. He’s 1970s records mogul Neil Bogart’s cousin—and a co-founder of legendary Casablanca Records—for heaven’s sake, and boy, does he have a great story to tell.

Reading his new book, And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records, is to be transported back to the wild early days of the rock band KISS and the origins of disco with Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "KISS was anything but a slam-dunk. The makeup turned everybody off. It made people cringe. We had to find ways around that." 

There are insider stories, anecdotes and revelations about how the music business—and the radio industry—work that will curl your hair. It seems like every page has something fresh, fascinating and sensational, from the mountains of cocaine and payola to who slept with whom. There are mafia implications, too.

Read this book and then decide whether your life story holds up.


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You can LISTEN to this interview with LARRY HARRIS, former Casablanca Records executive and author of AND PARTY EVERY DAY: THE INSIDE STORY OF CASABLANCA RECORDS, by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!

LISTEN TO THIS! Mr. Media's  January 7, 1985 interview with Gene Simmons of KISS


 
Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

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