NT-3263

Title slate: The Eleventh Hour #203 Celebrity Journalism, Rec: 11/16/89, Dir: Andrew Wilk

Funding by announcer overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.

"The Media's Mission" in a circle overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.

Pan in on Lipsyte, he announces tonight's topic, "...the rub between media's mission, honest information, and its reality - making money".

Still photograph of the actress, Vanessa Redgrave with a statement from her interview contract overlay, "...will be asked no questions concerning either her private life or her political views and activities." Narrator, Brook, states that Redgrave wants to control all content.

Same Redgrave photograph with further details from her interview contract overlay, "Miss Redgrave will have proof approval of the article to check the accuracy of her quotes and to check that no extraneous material has been included in the article." Narrator reads statement.

Media Critic from Newsweek, Jonathan Alter, speaking from behind his messy desk stacked with books and papers, with unknown interviewer about the controversy over Redgraves' restrictive media contract. He states that if a media representative signed this contract, he or she has literally "...battered away your independence as a journalist for the sake of writing a piece of puffery about somebody,"

Broadway theatre, sign on building The Simon, small theater marquis and peds out front, night time.

Sunday New York Times Magazine cover from June 11, 1989 featuring cover photo of Oprah Winfrey and story, "The Importance of being Oprah" Two other NYT magazine covers on wall are obscured.
Narrator states the Times originally planned the story would feature Vanessa Redgrave, but abandoned the story due to her contract restrictions.

Floyd Abrams, Constitutional Lawyer, talking with unknown interviewer about Redgrave's contract giving her prior censorship power over what is said about her. This, he feels clearly compromises journalistic independence, is unprofessional and outrageous.

People, shot from behind, pointing cameras as Vanessa Redgrave is walking through a throng of people.

Redgrave stops and turns, smiling as photographers lights are flashing, "Marquis Ballroom" sign above her.

Model Claudia Schiffer on cover of Elle Magazine, October 1989.

Elle Magazine cover with Claudia Schiffer, October 1989

Tom Brook, The Late Show BBC, reporting from outside the Simon Theater, marquis behind him, states that Redgrave's contract represents part of a new growing trend where show business figures are trying to control the activities of journalists.

Robert Wallace, Executive Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine speaking from behind his desk to unseen interviewer states that when you try and control the flow of information you are doing a disservice to readers.

Group of media folk standing outdoors, young woman writing on pad, photographer next to her pointing camera.

Robert Redford circa 1989 standing with two older gentlemen backstage or on set.

Meryl Streep at podium giving a speech (according to Brook to ban pesticide use on apples), 1989.

Vanessa Redgrave speaking to unseen reporter(s), mics pointing at her.

In the studio, Host Lipsyte (unseen) introduces his guests, Linda Winer, Critic New York Newsday; Lynn Geller, Writer; Kathy Schenker, Publicist.

Wide shot Host Lipsyte in studio with three guests. Interview begins about how "stars" control their access from the press.

INTERVIEW CONTINUES:

Robert Lipsyte 14:21
to be human beings. Do you think that that celebrity journalism is a contradiction in terms or must be?

Lynn Geller 14:29
I'm not really sure what you mean by that?

Robert Lipsyte 14:32
Well, the idea that there is journalism and there is kind of lighter entertainment journalism or celebrity journalism, in which certain other rules don't apply.

Lynn Geller 14:43
I think it's sort of developed into that, that that is the case and I used to work for ABC documentaries on so called hard news, versus what some people would call infotainment, which would be the entertainment industry. And aside from Sort of overall articles or television programs that look at media as a whole, such as this one? I think that when it comes down to one to one celebrity journalism Yeah, I do think it's a separate thing. It's mainly because of the magazine and the television stations point of view.

Kathryn Schenker 15:19
It absolutely is there there are I mean, that's why I'm I see part of my job is, is really trying to make sure that the artists that I work with are interviewed by intelligent, articulate writers who have something to say whether it might actually be a meeting of the minds or an artist might be interested in something this person has to say very often forge a relationship. I mean, I think that I mean, you can't say that People Magazine didn't, you know, spawn a whole world of these kind of info tainment whatever, you'd, it's just a fact.

Robert Lipsyte 15:55
We're also getting into an area of trust, the fact that, you know, we do want people to trust journalism, I mean, that's ultimately what we're, we're selling on trust was,

Kathryn Schenker 16:09
you know, then you read us world or the economist instead of people or us, I mean, no offense to people or us, I work with them. But nonetheless, I mean, if I want to read the truth, I'm careful what I picked to read.

Robert Lipsyte 16:24
level of higher level of sophistication on the part of the consuming public.

Linda Winer 16:28
Well, I don't know. I mean, are we talking about supermarket tabloid journalism? Are we talking about legitimate newspaper people who go out and interview celebrities? Because I think at that point, you certainly getting people who are as intelligent as the people who are writing for us were US News. So I mean, I think that people get burned or maybe burned by, you know, Roseanne Barr ate three babies for breakfast journalism, which doesn't, which doesn't have anything to do with.

Robert Lipsyte 16:52
That would be fair enough, except that Vanessa Redgrave's contract applies to the National Enquirer and The Washington Post. So that I mean, she cuts across all lines, she's not making it distinctions in kinds of journalism.

Linda Winer 17:07
I think she's an she's an extreme case. And I think she's been blackballed in this culture

Robert Lipsyte 17:13
she's not being more honest and upfront than some of the other celebrities. She's saying, here's the deal. I'm not going to play with you

INTERVIEW CONTINUED
Kathryn Schenker 17:20
if she's willing to accept the fact that there are many that might not be interested in interviewing her. And in fact, as we saw in this little film, you showed only two people were, if she can deal with that, then terrific now might not have helped the play. And perhaps the producers or the backers were a little saddened by the fact that she wasn't willing to get out there and sell that play. But if she I mean, don't they do it in baseball and aren't there I mean, everybody's got contracts for something or other I mean, if she can get a contract like that and protect her own life and her image, it's her image that's being projected out there Robert Lipsyte 17:53
you about the difference between Nancy Reagan and Vanessa Redgrave. But first, to put this on a little more historical context. You know, while today's stars may seem more aggressive about their publicity than then stars of your there still is nothing new about trying to invent or reinvent yourself,

Clip from the film, " A Star is Born" with narration from Lipsyte about how Hollywood always manipulated people to make stars routinely changing history and names.

Clip Rock Hudson (aka Roy Fitzgerald states Lipsyte, giving him a false identity).

Issue of Time Magazine entitled, "A Fresh Start" with Ronald Reagan on the cover

Ronald Reagan walking through a crowd of people. Lipsyte, unseen, states Reagan manipulated the press with showbiz smarts.

Var magazines with celebrities on the covers, Life, Vanity Fair, Time, GQ overlay each other one at a time. Narration by Robert Lipsyte about Personal Publicists.

INTERVIEW.

Linda Winer 20:10
I think absolutely, there's absolutely that that that is part of what's happening. You're making a deal about what you will ask him what you won't ask. And therefore there are subjects that are considered taboo. Therefore, just as the NEA is going to tell you that there's, there's art ideas that are considered taboo. And I'll tell you when I two really frightening experiences I've had with movies in the last year. One of them was that I wanted to interview Sigourney Weaver, because I happen to like gorillas and she was promoting gorillas in the mist. So I went out to interview Sigourney Weaver and I arrived at something that that is quite a common practice now, perhaps not in the music world, but in the Hollywood in Hollywood that I had never seen before this this press junket, which they call for obvious and chilling reasons gang banks, and I got there and there were 16 national and international journalists there, divide and I got a paper grid divided into eight groups with Sigourney Weaver in one room and another star another woman, a producer, another star and another star notes and we had 35 minutes our name is on this thing for this great at this and then all these little obedient little journalists would walk in and put the tape recorders down and she would ask questions for 35 minutes of course, she has one question someone else would ask another so he never had a chance to actually get anything in depth. And then they you know, take their their tape recorders up and go obediently into the next room. And you wonder when you go everywhere in the country, why it is when you when you pick up a paper on Sunday, everybody has the same stories. It's the Blanding out of America, it's everybody walking in lockstep. It's like handing out what Doonesbury used to call the message of the day.

Robert Lipsyte 21:40
Yeah. But I mean, you can always say, Hey, I'm not going to play with you anymore. We're not gonna do that story.

Lynn Geller 21:46
Right? I mean, that's the other side of it is that, as a journalist, I can always just say, Fine that I'm not interested. And I'm not. I mean, in general, I have finally come to the conclusion that I would rather not. I would rather interview a fire man who into a profile on him and in a magazine, because I think that would be interesting and new, then interview. Dennis Quaid who everybody else now, before Dennis Quaid broke, I might have been interested in talking to him now that I've read a million articles about him. Personally, I'm not interested in talking about you

Robert Lipsyte 22:25
use a journalist and making that decision. editors and executive producers who are trying to sell magazines and shows are not going to put your firefighter on the cover when they can put Dennis, I want to get back to that thought of Nancy Reagan. Is she or is she not a public figure? I don't know an elected official anymore. You know, cutting off whom she will give access to in this case, Mike Wallace, different from Vanessa Redgrave, different from Louis different from any kind of sense of this kind of control?

Kathryn Schenker 22:57
Well, I mean, to answer also your mention of censorship, I mean, I certainly see what I do is not as censorship, but is kind of quality control. I would only guess that Nancy Reagan's publicist, chose somebody that she thought Nancy Reagan might enjoy talking to or someone

Robert Lipsyte 23:15
that would like my point gatekeeping

Kathryn Schenker 23:17
Well know, I think when I I personally read everything all the time, look for writers that I think are intelligent, articulate, interesting, or that my artists might actually enjoy talking to or they might

Robert Lipsyte 23:33
Kathy I find that a little chilling because what I hear you saying is that if you control certain artists, whom editors want on the cover or executive producers want on the show, you can choose writers you can end careers, you can really manipulate the press in very meaningful way.

Kathryn Schenker 23:52
Well, I don't think that if even if somebody wanted to do that, I don't think it's quite that easy

Interview concludes, Host Lipsyte thanks guests, and announces the continuing show this week on "The Media Marketplace"

Show credits.

Reel ends.