It was early 2004, and the heated November presidential election was inching closer by the day. Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon had just wrapped the PBS documentary series about the history of New York theater called Broadway: The American Musical, and they realized that America was tense. “There was something about the moment in time and the country being polarized that made me think, ‘We could use a good joke right now,’ ” Kantor says. Better yet, he thought, a century of good jokes. So Kantor and Maslon set about chronicling the history of humor in the United States for a new book, Make ’Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America (Twelve Books, $45), and its accompanying six-part documentary series of the same name, which will air on PBS in January. The duo gave us the scoop on their entertaining new project.
About Me
- Although I write quite a bit about travel, food, books, business, and the media, I still consider myself a general assignment reporter and writer. I went freelance so that I could cover the world--no use limiting myself now.
I'm a contributing editor for American Way, the American Airlines magazine, co-write Flyover America, and have also written for loads of other travel, food, book, and general interest magazines. I've also contributed to guidebooks for Michelin, Mobil Travel Guide, and MapQuest.
Ready to put my curiosity, strong reporting skills, and wordplay (or photography) to work for your publication? Send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.
(Oh, be sure to visit the haiku diaries where I'm living life 17 syllables at a time.)
American Way: The Hardest Working Man in Publishing
September 1, 2008
Yeah, Justin Timberlake is doing all right for himself. He can sing, dance, and act. But when it comes to crowning the king of crossover in the entertainment industries (and with their audiences), author James Patterson gets the nod. And, actually, stack another crown on his head for his productivity.
Don't believe the hype? Well, prepare to be exhausted. By the end of 2008, Patterson, 61, will have published seven new books, including this month's The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, a title that targets young adults as well as older action aficionados; and in October, his first nonfiction story, Against Medical Advice. He will also see two of his books start their travels toward the big screen.
American Way: No Place for Too Long
June 15, 2006
There are sections of Anderson Cooper's Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival (HarperCollins) that make it hard to believe the anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° went into TV reporting in the first place. The man has a knack for writing. But TV it was: Less than two years after his 1989 graduation from Yale, Cooper quit his job as a fact-checker at the news-for-high-school students station, Channel One, borrowed a Hi-8 camera from the station's director, flew off to Thailand, snuck into Burma, and interviewed students who were fighting the military dictatorship. "There's an immediacy to television that I like," says Copper. "I like writing. It's something that's always been important to me but I grew up watching a lot of television and a lot of television news. There's nothing more interesting to me than sort of figuring out where to point the camera lens and how to tell the story both in words and in pictures."
What My Editors Say...
- "Jenna's charming wit and outstanding writing style are the perfect complements to her professionalism and dedication. Bottom line: She makes me look good--and that's a tough act to beat. Besides, any freelancer who would risk life and limb by attending trapeze school (and live to write about it) is top-notch in my book."--Chris Wessling, Senior Editor, American Way
- "Jenna is an aggressive, diligent and enterprising reporter with an appealing writing style."--Dan Lippe, Managing Editor, Ad Age Special Reports
- "Jenna's careful reporting, coupled with her desire not to take the easy-way-out and write the same old cliches everyone else writes, makes my life as an editor easier."--Margaret Littman, my editor on projects for MapQuest, Journey magazine, and Mobil Travel Guide
