Ep. 40: Assistant to the Editor (2002)

September 13-18, 2002. The Hollywood Reporter newsroom.

Looking back, the job and salary negotiations were straight forward and direct: my boss called me in, closed the door, and a plan to fill the Assistant to the Editor role was cemented. Clear. Direct. Respect.

I took the role: Assistant to the Editor. More than a 1/3 salary jump in 11 months. My co-assistant is the editor for the Calendar of Events page with her much deserved byline. I keep my 52-extension phone console so we all have access to breaking news. “What I don’t know, I need you to H-E-L-P me,” I told my boss. He said, “You’re good at math.”

Stone wanted to run around the office yelling. Mom said get close to the salary number. Peter Pryor said “great hire.” Bob Dowling still has to approve it, but “there’s no turning back.”

Black journalists were ∼5% of U.S. newsrooms then. I was one of them. On the phones. On the floor. 

Everyone’s career peak is their respective ride....just be ready.

I’m frustrated with the news ecosystem today, but I will always and still do believe in talent, writers, and journalists with integrity who truly inform, edify, take risks and explain a complex world and the complex human beings that we are.

From the newsroom floor to 30 countries.  This is Season 2: 2002 of "Let's Talk About Hollywood."

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💛 To support the podcast and help keep it independent, donations can be made from 96 countries here:  
https://letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

or to support my GoFundMe here, international currency donations available: 

https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2 

The podcast will always be free and runs on audience donations. I'll thank you on the air in an episode! Thank you!

 

Check out this episode!

Ep. 40: Assistant to the Editor (2002)

September 13-18, 2002. The Hollywood Reporter newsroom.

Looking back, the job and salary negotiations were straight forward and direct: my boss called me in, closed the door, and a plan to fill the Assistant to the Editor role was cemented. Clear. Direct. Respect.

I took the role: Assistant to the Editor. More than a 1/3 salary jump in 11 months. My co-assistant is the editor for the Calendar of Events page with her much deserved byline. I keep my 52-extension phone console so we all have access to breaking news. “What I don’t know, I need you to H-E-L-P me,” I told my boss. He said, “You’re good at math.”

Stone wanted to run around the office yelling. Mom said get close to the salary number. Peter Pryor said “great hire.” Bob Dowling still has to approve it, but “there’s no turning back.”

Black journalists were ∼5% of U.S. newsrooms then. I was one of them. On the phones. On the floor. 

Everyone’s career peak is their respective ride....just be ready.

I’m frustrated with the news ecosystem today, but I will always and still do believe in talent, writers, and journalists with integrity who truly inform, edify, take risks and explain a complex world and the complex human beings that we are.

From the newsroom floor to 30 countries.  This is Season 2: 2002 of "Let's Talk About Hollywood."

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💛 To support the podcast and help keep it independent, donations can be made from 96 countries here:  
https://letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

or to support my GoFundMe here, international currency donations available: 

https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2 

The podcast will always be free and runs on audience donations. I'll thank you on the air in an episode! Thank you!

 

Check out this episode!

Ep 39: Leaving It All on the $50 Million Dollar Floor

September 10-12, 2002. The Hollywood Reporter newsroom.

My supervisor’s leaving. I turned her job down. Twice. Boss asks my salary and the first two numbers lower than my age. He looks astounded. “Your boss needs you both. If you leave, he’s f*cked.” Raises submitted for January 2003. $13.50 an hour. Sales up 23%.

It’s the 1-year 9/11 anniversary. Moment of silence in the office park. THR’s issue: no exploitative pictures. Stone’s IT department confiscates his World Trade Center photos for their commemoration. “Why do you need these?”

Emmy meeting. “No way in hell I want a temp on that night.” 3pm-1am overtime. Red carpet. Bomb sweep. Stone: “Think positive!” Me: “It’s about thinking realistically.”

I was 32. Leaving it all on the $50M floor. Because that’s how you stay A-list on any rung of the totem pole.

From the newsroom floor to 30 countries. Season 2 continues.

Pressing play is enough. If you can donate, link in notes. No ads. No brand notes. Just truth, Stone, and receipts.

💛 To support the podcast and help keep it independent, donations can be made from 96 countries here:  
https://letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

or to support my GoFundMe here, international currency donations available: 

https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

Ep 39: Leaving It All on the $50 Million Dollar Floor

September 10-12, 2002. The Hollywood Reporter newsroom.

My supervisor’s leaving. I turned her job down. Twice. Boss asks my salary and the first two numbers lower than my age. He looks astounded. “Your boss needs you both. If you leave, he’s f*cked.” Raises submitted for January 2003. $13.50 an hour. Sales up 23%.

It’s the 1-year 9/11 anniversary. Moment of silence in the office park. THR’s issue: no exploitative pictures. Stone’s IT department confiscates his World Trade Center photos for their commemoration. “Why do you need these?”

Emmy meeting. “No way in hell I want a temp on that night.” 3pm-1am overtime. Red carpet. Bomb sweep. Stone: “Think positive!” Me: “It’s about thinking realistically.”

I was 32. Leaving it all on the $50M floor. Because that’s how you stay A-list on any rung of the totem pole.

From the newsroom floor to 30 countries. Season 2 continues.

Pressing play is enough. If you can donate, link in notes. No ads. No brand notes. Just truth, Stone, and receipts.

💛 To support the podcast and help keep it independent, donations can be made from 96 countries here:  
https://letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

or to support my GoFundMe here, international currency donations available: 

https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

Ep. 38: Thank You To 30 Countries!

Thank you to 30 countries.

This is Episode 38 of Let’s Talk About Hollywood : a listener appreciation episode from the newsroom floor to you.

Less than 1% of independent podcasts reach 30 countries. We did. With no ads, no PR, no notes from brands. Just a 2002 newsroom diary that leads to 24 years (and counting( of Hollywood, and you.

In this episode: My thank you to my listeners both in America and the world!  Why I’m here. To share not just my Hollywood journal, but the loss of a spouse, the weight of $100 million brands, and the truth that art and entertainment are the great equalizer. Audiences are the key to any profession and I’m grateful you’re here with me.

I talk about which episodes you’ve connected with most, and my aim to stay honest while building a global narrative community. From editorial assistant — the old ‘Associate Producer’ desk — to studio executive, this archive is ours now.

Season 2 continues. Thank you for making this more than an audio memoir. Thank you for making it us.

Check out this episode!

Ep. 38: Thank You To 30 Countries!

Thank you to 30 countries.

This is Episode 38 of Let’s Talk About Hollywood : a listener appreciation episode from the newsroom floor to you.

Less than 1% of independent podcasts reach 30 countries. We did. With no ads, no PR, no notes from brands. Just a 2002 newsroom diary that leads to 24 years (and counting( of Hollywood, and you.

In this episode: My thank you to my listeners both in America and the world!  Why I’m here. To share not just my Hollywood journal, but the loss of a spouse, the weight of $100 million brands, and the truth that art and entertainment are the great equalizer. Audiences are the key to any profession and I’m grateful you’re here with me.

I talk about which episodes you’ve connected with most, and my aim to stay honest while building a global narrative community. From editorial assistant — the old ‘Associate Producer’ desk — to studio executive, this archive is ours now.

Season 2 continues. Thank you for making this more than an audio memoir. Thank you for making it us.

Check out this episode!

Ep. 37: It'll Get Better, Trust Me (2002)

It's fall 2002 in Hollywood and everything is shifting at once. A new apartment, a new schedule, a boss who keeps telling me it'll get better and a newsroom that never stops.

In this episode, I take you inside my Labor Day move-in with my husband Stone, including the moment I grabbed him by the chin and made it clear he wasn't going anywhere, and why that mattered more than he knew.

We swim, we laugh, we plan a housewarming with a very strict guest list, and I become a human catamaran.

Meanwhile at work, my supervisor is leaving, the Emmys are calling, a Shannen Doherty superfan flew 7,000 miles for reasons I had to talk her out of, and two executives had a shouting match that was just this side of Itchy and Scratchy.

Episode 37 is about new beginnings, holding on to what matters and growing up.

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💛 To support the podcast and help keep it independent, donations can be made from 96 countries here:  
https://letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

or to support my GoFundMe here, international currency donations available: 

https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2 

The podcast will always be free and runs on audience donations. I'll thank you on the air in an episode! Thank you!

Check out this episode!