Mr. Media Interviews By Bob Andelman

TODAY’S GUEST: KAREN DUNLAP, PRESIDENT, THE POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA STUDIES(December 2008) What a crazy, crazy world.When I invited today’s guest, Karen Dunlap, president of the Poynter Institute, to be a guest on the show today, it was ostensibly to discuss Poynter’s upcoming collection of newspaper front pages titled President Obama: Election 2009.And we’re still going to do that.But then everything got turned upside-down.Sunday night rumors of Tribune Company—owner of everything from the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and even the Chaicago Cubs—declaring bankruptcy became reality on Monday morning.Then the august New York Times revealed it was exploring mortgaging its new headquarters tower in Manhattan to sustain itself through one of the worst newspaper advertising slumps in history.The Poynter InstituteOh, and then this morning, Alaska residents discovered they no long had the most ridiculed governor in the nation as Americans learned how allegedly and nakedly corrupt was the g

TODAY’S GUEST: JOE PISTONE, FORMER FBI AGENT, AUTHOR, DONNIE BRASCO: UNFINISHED BUSINESS(August 2008) My favorite book in the 1970s was Serpico by Peter Maas, the story of a New York City cop who seemingly single-handedly fought the force of corruption in the city’s police department. I read all the books of that genre in that era, from Supercops to The Valachi Papers and The French Connection.One of the most fascinating parts of those works was always the tales of cops who went undercover to infiltrate the bad guys, from drug dealers to the Mafia.No one ever did undercover police work better or with more distinction than Joe Pistone, who you probably know better as “Donnie Brasco.” Brasco became a household name in the 1980s as the undercover character played by Pistone, perhaps the ballsiest FBI agent ever. His six years undercover ultimately led to testimony that sent more than 200 mobsters to jail and – indirectly, several to their deaths.Pistone was famously portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 1997 movie, Do

TODAY’S GUESTS: JIM TUSTY, MAUREEN TUSTY, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS, THE SINGING REVOLUTION(April 2009) Estonia is not a country that most Americans could find on a map, let alone understand the modern history of its people.But in the history of freedom from tyranny, Estonians are one of the proudest, most accomplished people in the world. This is demonstrated in a new documentary, The Singing Revolution, produced and directed by Jim and Maureen Tusty.Jim Tusty is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Estonia whose father came here in 1924.Maureen Castle Tusty was raised in upstate New York. She and Jim met in 1986 and created a business partnership that eventually led them to teach budding Estonian filmmakers in 1999 and 2001.The Singing Revolution—the Tusty’s first documentary—tells the astounding and hardly-known story of the Estonian people who stood up for themselves armed only with unity, song and determination. It is, says Jim, “the greatest story never told.”Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://ww

TODAY’S GUEST: JEREMY REDLEAF, FILMMAKER, SARAH PALIN PARODY, JUNEAU(October 2008) Apparently there is a big national election campaign underway in the United States featuring an old man, a black man, a bald man and a woman who shoots moose.Who knew?You can LISTEN to this Mr. Media interview with filmmaker JEREMY REDLEAF of the short filmAnyway, amidst all the noise for John McCain and Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Jeremy Redleaf has created a short, musical film parody called Juneau. It sounds just like that other movie of the same name with a different spelling. And instead of a pregnant teen named “Juno,” it revolves around a pregnant teen named “Bristol.”Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Since February 2007, more than 1,000 exclusive Holly

TODAY’S GUEST: JENNY BLOCK, AUTHOR, OPEN: LOVE, SEX AND LIFE IN AN OPEN MARRIAGE, O WOW: DISCOVERING YOUR ULTIMATE ORGASMWhat if you could sleep with someone who wasn’t your spouse or significant other – and not only get away with it, but arrange things so that your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend not only improved but endorsed such behavior?I know, I know — it’s not going to happen in my life any time soon, either.But it’s an arrangement that worked so well for wife and mother Jenny Block that she has written a book describing and celebrating it. In Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage, the former English professor and current blogger for The Huffington Post takes readers on a wild ride through the world she created for herself. It’s not “Swingtown,” but it’s close enough for daydreamers.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of

TODAY’S GUEST: JEFFREY LYONS, FILM CRITIC(October 2008) If you consider yourself a little choosy when it comes to movies, you probably either read newspaper reviews or watch a movie review show on TV.There are some reviews who come a little more highly recommended than others. There was Siskel, there was Ebert… and since I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, there has always been Jeffrey Lyons.Lyons is back with the second season of his syndicated TV show, “Reel Talk with Lyons & Bailes,” and he’s here to tell us a little about it.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Since February 2007, more than 1,000 exclusive Hollywood, celebrity, pop culture video and audio comedy podcast interviews by Mr. Media®, a.k.a., Bob Andelman, with newsmakers in TV, radio,

TODAY’S GUEST: HARVEY FROMMER, AUTHOR, REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM(October 2008) There are two memories of Yankee Stadium that I hold dear.The first dates back to 1967. I was six years old and my grandfather took me to the House That Ruth Built for the first time to see my idol, Mickey Mantle. There are two things I remember about that night: The Mick hit a home run but I was mostly scared to death being way up high in the upper deck.My second memory is of the last time I was at the stadium, June 16, 1997. My wife ordered tickets for us to see the first ever interleague game between the Yankees and their crosstown rival, the Mets. It was the first game that would ever count between the two teams. We flew up from Florida just for the game.By then, I was more a Mets fan than a Yankees fan and, even more, a Tampa Bay Rays fan. It was as electric an atmosphere as I could imagine any World Series game might offer.But my recollections are a drop in the bucket compared with the ones collected by Harvey Frommer in his

TODAY’S GUEST: HAROON MOKHTARZADA, CEO, WEBS.COM(October 2008) I know a lot of people who are intrigued by the idea of producing their own web site or blog but scared to death that doing so would be technically over their heads.To which I always reply, “If I can do it, you can do it.”If you’re one of those people, maybe my guest for today’s show will have better luck convincing you to give web site construction a go.His name is Haroon Mokhtarzada (Ha roon Mook tar za da) and he is CEO of Webs.com, also known as Freewebs. The company is big in the build-your-own-website space and was recently named #5 on the Technology Fast 50. They’ve made web site building about as easy as anyone could.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Since February 2007, more than 1,0

TODAY’S GUEST: GEORGE MOTZ, AUTHOR, HAMBURGER AMERICA: ONE MAN’S CROSS-COUNTRY ODYSSEY TO FIND THE BEST BURGERS IN THE NATION(July 2008) Hamburgers – okay, and French fries – are so much a part of American culture that it is no surprise that somebody like George Motz would attempt something as crazy as Hamburger America: One Man’s Cross- Country Odyssey to Find the Best Burgers in the Nation.And it’s not just a book – Motz created includes a DVD that captures all the sizzle, steam and personality of some of the best burger joints in America.What makes Motz an expert?Who knows – who cares? Anybody who can point me to my next great burger is an expert to me.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Since February 2007, more than 1,000 exclusive Hollywood, celebrit

(November 2008) I well remember my first encounter with wireless Internet service outside of my home.It was the Cellular Telecommunication & Internet Association’s Wireless 2002 show in Orlando and I was sent to cover it for Technology Meetings magazine.Boingo Wireless had approached the CTIA just two weeks earlier about making Wi-Fi available at the gigantic convention at the Orange County Convention Center and I was there to test it out.You can LISTEN to this interview with DAVE HAGAN, CEO of BOINGO WIRELESS, by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player below!WiFi changed my life—and the magazine’s too; my cover story on that event was the last issue in the magazine’s short history.Anyway, I’ve been sold on Wi-Fi ever since and I suspect you’ll find my guest today is a big fan of it, too.He’s Dave Hagan, CEO of Boingo Wireless.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr.

(June 2008) If MTV edited a presidential campaign video, it would probably look and feel a bit like In Search of Kennedy, a new documentary film by Chuck Workman and Stephen J. Kern.The movie applies a 21st century sheen to the most iconic of 20th century political figures, John F. Kennedy.It is incredibly au currant, with the 2008 Democratic references narrowed down to Obama and Clinton.The movie – which reminds us that, in 2000, even George W. Bush was sold to the American public as being Kennedy-like! – is crammed with familiar faces interviewed expressly for this project, including Norman Mailer, Tom Hayden, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Michael Moore, Garrison Keillor, Chris Matthews, Arianna Huffington and Senators Edward Kennedy, Joseph Biden and Chris Dodd. Alec Baldwin and Elisabeth Peña speak the words of prominent writers. Workman, who wrote and directed In Search of Kennedy over a three-year period, received his Oscar® for his live action short “Precious Images.”Previously, Workman produced and direc

TODAY’S GUEST: BRIAN MICHAEL JENKINS, AUTHOR, WILL TERRORISTS GO NUCLEAR?(October 2008) Let me say this as clearly as possible: If you don’t buy Brian Michael Jenkins’ new book, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?? then the terrorists win.And that may be the last moment of levity in this episode of Mr. Media.You can LISTEN to this interview with BRIAN MICHAEL JENKINS author of WILLTERRORISTS GO NUCLEAR? by clicking the audio player above!Brian Michael Jenkins is one of the world’s leading authorities on terrorism. He has been advising the military, government and prestigious think tanks on the dangers of escalating terrorism for more than 30 years and is currently a senior advisor to the president of the Rand Corporation.Some of the questions that he explores in the book include; Are nuclear weapons instruments of coercion or of pure destruction?; Are those we label religious fanatics constrained by political and strategic calculations?; If a nuclear attack took place on American soil, what life and death decisions w

My wife and I love taking vacations in Maine and Vermont. That’s not unusual for Floridians, of course. But it was reading the local paper in Manchester Center, Vermont, probably a decade ago, that I first heard of my next guest.The story was about a performance by a rabbi-turned-standup comedian named Bob Alper.I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a Jewish temple but I have. They’re not naturally funny places. But Rabbi Bob Alper is a naturally funny guy.We became friends over the years, visiting and breaking bread in Vermont and in Florida. My family and I have seen him perform numerous times and even manned his book sale table once.He released the first DVD of his act, titled "What Are You… A Comedian?" so I used it in September 2008 as an excuse to feature my friend on today’s show.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the c

With $2.6 billion in assets, the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is the 22nd largest foundation in the United States. Its mission is the betterment of the 26 communities in which it works and the promotion of journalism as a career and industry nationwide.The latter part of Knight’s mission is particularly challenging at a time when traditional newspapers are shrinking and, in many cases, evaporating.That puts Alberto Ibargüen, CEO of the Knight Foundation and a former publisher of the Miami Herald, at the same crossroads that silent movies encountered with talkies, talkies with radio, radio with television, television with cable, and now traditional print journalism with online reporting, blogs, podcasting, v-logs, streaming media, and so on.Since 1950, the Knight Foundation has invested more than $300 million to advance quality journalism and freedom of expression worldwide. It has a vital interest in seeing journalism survive in whatever form it takes.I interviewed Ibargüen for an old me

Today's Guest: Ritch Shydner, comedianRITCH SHYDNER podcast excerpt: "A podcast is, when you're not really in show business, it's good make-believe that you're in show business. I've seen guys post, 'I'm gonna go tape a show today.' I go, 'What show?' 'It's a podcast.' 'That's not a show!' Podcasting is like a comedic circle jerk. 'You come on my show; I'll go on your show, we'll make believe we're in show business.'"Key interview moments:• 4:35 Ritch Shydner shares his views on (most, not all) comedians who do podcasts;• 23:30 That time a young Shydner opened for The Ramones;• 37:40 That other time when an inebriated Shydner walked up to Morey Amsterdam and got schooled by the legendary comic and "Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star on how much the up-and-coming standup didn't know about the history of comedy in America.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MrMediaRadioFor more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.com What is Mr. Media® Interviews? Th

HEY, KIDS! COMICS! My guest today on Mr. Media Interviews is cartoonist Jeffrey Brown, creator of "Darth Vader & Son," "Vader's Little Princess," "Star Wars Jedi Academy," "Lucy and Andy Neanderthal” and "Clumsy."VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: 4:15 "Google thought of me for this idea they had: they would do an everyday father and son moment between Darth Vader and Luke. My autobiographical work dealt with awkward, everyday moments. And they knew I was a dad. My immediate reaction was to think of Luke as four years old, because that's how old my son was. I did a bunch of sketches, but in the end, they decided not to use the idea. But my publisher, Chronicle Books, had done a lot of work with LucasFilm and I thought maybe they could take the idea to them. That became the first book, 'Darth Vader & Son.'"17:30 Brown talks about naming the characters in his newest children's series, Lucy & Andy Neanderthal;36:45 Meeting graphic novelist Chris Ware was a big moment in Brown's development as a cartoonist; he talks

Today's Guest: Ritch Shydner, comedian   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Ritch Shydner by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of career opening act comedians whose concept of “killing” is the only way they’re ever gonna middle… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Today’s interview with comedian Ritch Shydner is unusual for at least three reasons. First of all, Shydner is the first guest of my 10th year of producing the Mr. Media podcast. Second, he may be the first guest I’ve ever connected with as a Facebook friend first and then invited to be a guest on the show. RITCH SHYDNER podcast excerpt: "It's 1977. Friends of mine have bar bands . When they t breaks, I jumped on stage and did comedy. It was all kamikaze stuff. One night, a bar owner came over and said, 'You want to open for a band next week? I'll give $50.' I was excited; I gotta do this. Next week came, I realized I didn't even know who the band w

Today's Guest: Jeffrey Brown, cartoonist, Darth Vader & Son, Vader's Little Princess, Jedi Academy, Lucy & Andy Neanderthal, Clumsy, Funny Misshapen Body.   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Jeffrey Brown by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of Gungans from the planet Naboo who hope that Jar Jar Binks didn’t make it impossible for them to be featured in a future Jeffrey Brown book… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! It was probably about two years ago when my family gave me a copy of Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown for my birthday. I will admit that I thought it was a gag gift, a trifle, something that was an after thought. The cover features Darth Vader participating in a tea party with Princess Leia and an Ewok, for cryin’ out loud! Then I start reading it. JEFFREY BROWN podcast excerpt: "Google thought of me for this idea they had: they would do an everyday father and son moment between

Today's Guest: Novelist Lida Sideris, author of Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters, former Hollywood studio attorney.LIDA SIDERIS podcast excerpt: "My day job as a lawyer can be a bit intense. So this book was an escape hatch for me, carved with words, zany characters, odd situations, action and adventure the whole way."Key interview moments:• 3:55 If your day job is a roller-coaster, attorney-turned-novelist Lida Sideris suggests writing to take the edge off;• 11:40 Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters is the kind of novel that has the authors friends wondering if they are in it;• 19:00 Sideris answers questions about a possible sequel for the book's star, Corrie Locke.Subscribe to Mr. Media for FREE on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...For more interviews like this one: http://www.MrMedia.comWhat is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Since February 2007, more than 1,000 exclusive Hollywood, celebrity, pop c

Today's Guest: Novelist Lida Sideris, author of Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters, former Hollywood studio attorney.   Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Lida Sideris by clicking on the video player above!  Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience full of gun-totin’ gumshoes with no regard for their own health or welfare – let alone their mother’s expensive wardrobe… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Here’s a great title for a mystery novel: Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters. It’s writer Lida Sideris’s first crack at fiction writing and the former Hollywood studio attorney certainly promises a lot right up front! LIDA SIDERIS podcast excerpt: "My day job as a lawyer can be a bit intense. So this book was an escape hatch for me, carved with words, zany characters, odd situations, action and adventure the whole way." You can LISTEN to this interview with lawyer and novelist LIDA SIDERIS, author of MURDER AND OTHER UNNATURAL DISASTERS, by clicking the