Round Table with Ben Svetkey and Nancy Miller Talking Politics, Entertainment and the Oscars
Episode 19 : Media Mayhem
Episode Synopsis
This week on Media Mayhem Allison has a round-table discussion with Entertainment Weekly Editor at large Ben Svetkey and seasoned entertainment editor and journalist Nancy Miller.
Exploring everything from the current presidential elections to tabloids and the Oscar race, no stone is left unturned with tons more insight than your run of the mill entertainment fare. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Benjamin Svetkey - is Editor at Large for Entertainment Weekly. He has covered TV, books, movies and music since EW’s launch in 1990. His articles have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Time International, among other publications.
Nancy Miller - is the West Coast Editorial Director for Fast Company and one of the editors of Co.Create. Nancy was a former Senior Editor at Wired and a writer at Entertainment Weekly.
Episode Breakdown
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Welcoming Ben Svetkey and Nancy Miller
02:07 Is the Presidential Race the new media Soap Opera?
07:00 Politicians and media manufacturing roles and drama.
10:35 The Twitter effect on the news.
11:55 Spoofing Mitt Romney - Justin Long clip.
13:54 The political gaffe industry; does satire engage people politically?
17:08 How has the entertainment industry covered the wars?
18:55 Fred and Ginger escapism or great ambivalence in the post 9/11 era?
27:48 Is there anything new to write about 9/11?
29:10 Are the Oscars on their last legs as a broadcast?
34:45 Are box office ratings obsolete?
38:22 Re-writing the history of Margaret Thatcher and the Queen; George Clooney leads to Hitler?
44:40 Modernizing historical figures for contemporary audiences.
48:35 The Mayhem Round
48:56 The massive Demi Moore issue and development of tabloid culture.
52:37 How the internet has pushed magazines to the extreme.
55:11 Are celebrities required to have a back story?
57:20 Handing the media a narrative and issue of journalist ‘laziness.’
59:30 Is entertainment reporting just a game?
01:03:58 Room for opinion in journalism?
01:07:35 Breasts on the covered of Wired.
01:10:47 Thanks.
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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.
