Writing Through Madness with Author and Journalist Ned Zeman

Episode 2 : Media Mayhem

Episode Synopsis

Allison is joined by guest Ned Zeman to discuss his recently published memoir, The Rules of The Tunnel: My Brief Period of Madness, as well as his career in journalism writing for publications such as Vanity Fair. Ned shares stories and observations ranging from how he ended up in Antarctica researching Bruno Zehnder to attending a memorial service at Paramount Studios for super agent Jay Maloney. Allison and Ned have a spirited discussion about the current landscape of journalism and how the content has changed and been influenced over the last few decades.

Guest Bio

Ned Zeman is a journalist who has written for magazines such as Spy, Newsweek, GQ, Sports Illustrated and Outside. He worked for Vanity Fair as senior editor and then as contributing editor. He has written profiles on Mike Ovitz, Jennifer Lopez and Julia Roberts and has reported on outdoor adventurers such as Timothy Treadwell and Bruno Zehnder. In addition to journalism, Ned is a screenwriter and author whose memoir, The Rules of the Tunnel: My Brief Period of Madness was recently published.

Episode Breakdown

00:00-01:57 Introduction

01:57 Guest intro: NED ZEMAN

04:06 How did you come up with the stories in the book?

05:14 Why were you fascinated by Bruno Zehnder?

07:29 How do you sell the story to your editor “I want to go to Antarctica?”

08:46 What are the kinds of stories people are doing now?

09:37 If someone wants to read an adventure story where would they go?

10:20 When covering the penguin story, at what point did you see similarities with your own illness?

12:30 In the book, when you came to write about J. Maloney it seems you were more in tune with what was going on with you. Were you?

14:21 Wasn’t it after your piece that there was a reaction in Hollywood?

16:47 You end up at a memorial service at Paramount for J. Maloney, what happened there?

18:30 At what point while working on this story did you realize this isn’t something your friends can fix?

20:30 How did you do recover from memory loss due to electroshock therapy?

22:10 Was it strange for you to remember things that you did during certain episodes?

23:10 When you are writing something like this and you have to go back to your job, do people treat you differently?

25:00 Would you recommend the treatment you underwent to anyone else?

25:30 How about the botox trial?

27:30 What is popular in today’s current media?

28:40 Do you think downloading is helping ? Will it save long form articles?

29:20 Are there stories that are missing from the media that are getting squeezed out?

30:00 Subject matter: Are there stories editors are generally disinterested in?

32:30 What do you think of the AOL /HUFF POST merger?

33:45 When you are writing a story that perhaps goes against the company’s views do you think it gets buried? Is it all one voice?

36:50 What kind of pressure have you felt writing in Hollywood? Were there things you were encouraged to leave out?

38:25 Can you explain what you mean by there being certain magazines that were owned by Hollywood?

40:00 Why are there celebrities on covers if you don’t believe they sell magazines? Is today’s “90’s Celebrity” replaced by the celebrity train wreck story?

41:00 Is advertisting vs substantial content?

42:40 Do you watch the news?

45:50 Is it possible to get the news from Fox/CNN but not believe the commentary?

47:00 MEDIA MAYHEM w/Nick Guerra

48:30 TOPIC ONE: “Tea Party Debate”

53:30 TOPIC TWO: “J LO (media savvy)” Who is the most media savvy celebrity you have interviewed? Who was not?

55:44 If you could pick one story from the last year what would it be?

57:30 What did you think of VF putting Tiger Woods’ mistresses in an issue?

59:00 LAST TOPIC: “J.D. Salinger one sentence letter.”

Additional Links

Ned Zeman

http://www.vanityfair.com/contributors/ned-zeman

http://therulesofthetunnel.com/

Mayhem Round Articles

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/12/tea-party-debate-rickperry_n_959387.html?ref=elections-2012

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/09/jennifer-lopez-201109

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110913/stage_nm/us_salinger

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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.