By Richard Lee At the start of the start of the HBO Max West Wing Special, Bradley Whitford, the actor who played Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC series, spoke directly to the audience and acknowledged entertainers… Read More ›
Richard Lee
Janis Joplin died 50 years ago
Janis Joplin died 50 years ago today. When I was in high school, I took a train to New York City with a friend to see Janis in concert at Madison Square Garden. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band opened the… Read More ›
A debate playlist for two men singing different tunes
By Richard Lee By the time Joe Biden and Donald Trump take the stage tonight for the first debate of the 2020 campaign, most voters will already have made up their minds about how they will cast their ballots. In… Read More ›
Is it still the economy, stupid?
By Richard Lee “It’s the economy, stupid,” the phrase that James Carville coined when he was a strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, has always been sound advice for those running for office. Voters tend to vote on pocketbook… Read More ›
The journalism lessons of ‘Almost Famous’
By Richard Lee Almost Famous, which was released 20 years ago this month, is more than an entertaining tale of rock’n’roll as told through the lens of a character based on Cameron Crowe and the work he did as a… Read More ›
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 ›
Jandoli Institute 