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The Insider: Low Blows, High Honor

Nov 4, 2007  •  Post A Comment

No daytime industry event in New York is more fun than the annual luncheon at which the Center for Communication bestows the Frank Stanton Award on a powerful media executive and then kicks him while he’s up.
Last week, the man being roasted was Randy Falco, who was named chairman and CEO of AOL in 2006 after more than 30 years of rising through the ranks at NBC.
His former colleagues fired the live ammunition from the podium, but the performance star that was born was “Today” executive producer Jim Bell. He was sitcom-funny and fearless, seemingly undaunted by a power-packed room. A former NBC Sports producer, Mr. Bell got to know Mr. Falco well over the course of Olympics preparation and coverage.
While photos of former “Today” co-anchor Katie Couric and Mr. Falco flashed behind him, Mr. Bell said that at NBC Universal, 2006 is regarded as “the year we unloaded two of the biggest pains in the asses.” It was the most memorable of many memorable lines.
Sportscaster Bob Costas, who filled in for NBCU President-CEO Jeff Zucker, gets the silver medal for his zinger referring to the cutbacks Mr. Falco has ordered as he tries to turn AOL around: “He used to have five [children] but he had to lay two of ‘em off.”
The low-key Mr. Falco, long known as one of the goodest of the good guys in the business, used his unassuming persona to theatrical advantage as he fired off a volley of retorts setting the record straight on a number of issues, from the good old days of NBC’s ratings supremacy (“We thought it would never end … and then along came Jeff Zucker”) to the birth of NBC’s cable news channel (“I always thought MSNBC sounded like a disease”).
Mr. Falco also pretended to recall the old days at the Peacock network when “going digital” meant it was time for one’s annual prostate exam, a mindset that “might explain iVillage.”
At the pre-lunch reception, GE Vice Chairman Bob Wright was quick to talk about the project closest to his heart, Autism Speaks, the increasingly influential nonprofit effort he and wife Suzanne spearheaded after a grandson was diagnosed with the disorder. Just the day before, the American Academy of Pediatrics had agreed to recommend that all children should be screened twice by age 2 for autism—something Autism Speaks has lobbied for, because early intervention can make such a difference—and the morning shows were doing segments on autism’s telltale signs.
Also in extraordinarily good humor: agent Richard Leibner, who had just returned with agent-wife Carole Cooper from an unprecedented (for them) three-week vacation in China. Jet lag didn’t seem to have caught up with him yet.
Norville Patch Still Working
On Nov. 2, The Insider marked five weeks without a cigarette, without even standing next to a smoker on a sidewalk and inhaling. “Inside Edition” anchor Deborah Norville has been personally and profusely thanked, since it was her new book, “Thank You Power,” that inspired The Insider’s most successful—albeit most uncharacteristic—attempt to quit in nearly 40 years of smoking. The Insider is still tapping her upper arm, where a nicotine patch might go, and uttering thanks that the less and less frequent urge to smoke is not strong enough to defeat the resolve not to smoke. BTW: Ms. Norville’s book ranked No. 10 on the Oct. 28 edition of the New York Times’ Hardcover Advice Best Sellers list.

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