By Richard Lee In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Bob Dylan has written songs of every size and shape. Dylan, who turns 79 today, even wrote one that follows the traditional structure of a news story…. Read More ›
Richard Lee
An interview, a clarification and a question
By Richard Lee At Monday’s White House press briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reacted angrily to a question from CBS reporter Paula Reid. Fauci had just clarified remarks he made a… Read More ›
John Prine’s ode to journalism
By Richard Lee If I had to find one thing in common about the musical body of work John Prine gave us, it would be the way each one of his songs evoked an emotion. He made us laugh; he… Read More ›
Andrew Cuomo may have a place in Washington, but it is not the Oval Office
By Richard Lee Andrew Cuomo’s leadership throughout the coronavirus crisis has earned the New York governor a place in the national spotlight. At one time, #PresidentCuomo was trending on Twitter. He has been mentioned as a possible running mate — and… Read More ›
‘This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco…’
By Richard Lee The future David Byrne envisioned in the Talking Heads’ 1979 song “Life During Wartime” seems very real today amid the coronavirus pandemic. As Jim Beviglia wrote in American Songwriter: “The urgency and immediacy of the band’s performance… Read More ›
Battlestar Galactica, COVID-19 and the media
By Richard Lee At a journalism conference I attended a few years ago, a speaker made an interesting observation about Battlestar Galactica, a science fiction television series that suddenly seems more pertinent today than when it aired. In the series,… Read More ›
Missing the point of the State of the Union
An online search of the State of the Union yields 2.9 billion results. What do the results have in common? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up President Donald J. Trump’s speech. Trump refused to shake Pelosi’s hand as he walked… Read More ›
Kobe Bryant and Buddy Holly have more in common than the way they died
By Richard Lee In a busy media week that included the Super Bowl, the Iowa Caucuses and the State of the Union, the anniversary of one of the music world’s most tragic events did not receive the attention it usually… Read More ›
The simple math behind Trump’s Super Bowl ad
By Richard Lee I’ll admit it: Donald Trump’s first quarter Super Bowl ad took me by surprise. No talk of fake news, hoaxes or witch-hunts. No shots of cheering Trump supporters at a MAGA rally. Instead the ad featured Alice… Read More ›
Authorship matters; sources matter
By Chris Mackowski Last week, frothing with impeachment fever, a relative forwarded to me a Facebook meme purportedly authored by Clint Eastwood. “People message me why I stick my neck out for Trump,” the meme said. “Why do I tarnish… Read More ›
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