The 85 Year Old VJs
John Erickson…. Ted Turner of the retirement set. About three years ago, I gave a speech at the Cable Conference in Chicago. A few days later, I got a call from someone who had seen me speak. He said...
Read moreVJ Academy Oversubscribed in 1 Day!
…sign me up!…. In 1937, Saudi Arabia was among the pooerst countries in the world. Think Somalia, but with nothing. Then, in 1937, an oil wildcatter named Frank Holmes, working for Standard Oil, without much evidence for anything, dropped...
Read moreHow To Make A Living With A Video Camera – Pt1
…”we’re waiting for the cameras before we can evac you…” In 1994, my now ex-wife (who shall mercifully remain nameless) and I wandered into the waiting room of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) with a small,...
Read moreThe Power of an Image
Do you ‘feel’ the power…… In the world of painting we have Picasso, Rembrandt or Jackson Pollack. In music we have Beethoven, Mozart or Bono. In literature, Shakespeare, Dickens or Melville. But in TV, whom do we have? Katie...
Read moreThe Ayatollah and Me
Thanks AK! The release of the British hostages from Iran brought back warm memories of how my TV career started. As it is Good Friday, I thought I would share them with you. I did not start off looking...
Read moreThe VJ Registry
Can you see the future……. In 1988 I quit a job at CBS News as a producer for Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt, bought a small video camera and went to live in Jabalya, a Palestinian refugee camp in...
Read moreListen Up!
Jack Hitt…. A real journalist….. Congratulations to my old friend Jack Hitt who just won a Peabody for his story on “Gitmo” on This American Life. He and I both went to Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (’83),...
Read more5Takes – Season 4
No time for photos… we’re on a very tight schedule… A REVOLUTION IN A LAPTOP Two years ago, we engaged in a small experiment in television production. We wanted to send 5 young Americans to Europe for the summer...
Read moreOne Small Step
“what else is on?” On July 21, 1969, man landed on the moon. It was an incredible achivement in human history. And the moment was televised for the entire planet to see. A short three years later, man left...
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