TV Guide Editor and Columnist Bruce Fretts on Media Mayhem with Allison Hope Weiner

Episode 9

Episode Synopsis

This week Allison has invited Bruce Fretts, editor and columnist for TV Guide, onto the show to discuss how the media, TV, and film communities are responding to recent scandals in prominent political and entertainment figures lives. Other topics discussed include Oscar scandal, political correctness in the media, late night television, film vs television response to the financial crisis and much much more. Enjoy!

Guest Bio

Bruce Fretts is a well known writer and editor for TV Guide. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Bruce worked as assistant editor for American Heritage magazine. After his stint at the magazine, he wrote for Entertainment Weekly and published a book, The Entertainment Weekly Seinfeld Companion. Bruce currently works as an Articles Editor/Columnist for TV Guide Magazine, a movie critic for TwoCrankyGuys.com and a television critic for New Jersey jazz station WBGO.

Episode Breakdown

00:00-01:15 Introduction

01:15 Oscar Mayhem and breaking news.

05:10 Holding public figures and journalists to standards of being politically correct.

10:54 Hank Williams Jr. comments and subsequent coverage and interviews.

13:00 Making fun of the President and presidential candidates.

15:08 Late night comics’ abilities to interview: Why don’t you and other reporters hold them more liable for that?

16:20 David Letterman Criticism.

19:11 Has comedy changed on late night TV?

21:00 Politicians on late night TV: Should their be more criticism of this process?

24:20 Tell us about the genesis of your TwoCrankyGuys Film Blog?

27:16 Tell us about your criticism of the film industries response to the financial crisis in this country?

31:08 Can you compare the response to the financial crisis from the film community vs the television community?

32:50 Are there any accurate representations in film or TV around this topic that people can actually acquire information from while being entertained?

35:00 How is TV programming reflecting people’s reality right now?

38:42 Opinions on coverage of the presidential campaigning right now.

44:00 Holding the media accountable for their coverage.

49:45 Holding headline news hosts (eg. Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew and Pierce Morgan) in particular.

1:00:41 Mayhem Round: Casting a presidential candidate film for HBO.

1:03:20 Obama’s swag.

1:04:50 Wrap Up

Additional Links

http://www.tvguide.com/authors/bruce-fretts

http://twocrankyguys.com/

twitter.com/brucefretts

Comments

Hosted By

Allison Hope Weiner

Allison Hope Weiner was a Century City entertainment litigator before she began writing about Hollywood as a journalist. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Southern California Law Center, she joined the legendary firm of Wyman, Bautzer—where she represented entertainers and corporate media clients.