FORMER TV NEWS EXECUTIVE-TURNED TALENT AGENT MORT MEISNER PENS MEMOIR EXPOSING RACISM, SEXISM, DRUG USE, AND MORE
ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES, October 5, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- FORMER TV NEWS EXECUTIVE-TURNED TALENT AGENT MORT MEISNER
PENS MEMOIR EXPOSING RACISM, SEXISM, DRUG USE, AND MORE
After decades of leadership in big-city TV news, Mort Meisner is turning the lens on his own life in Enough to Be Dangerous, a memoir exposing personal stories that are as shocking and scandalous as anything he aired during a newscast.
The book was released on October 1, 2020 by Two Sisters Writing & Publishing. It’s available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other online retailers. Mort is blogging weekly and speaking about racism and sexism in the news industry during media interviews.
“Unfortunately, the racism and sexism that I witnessed during the 80’s and 90’s are still a problem in some newsrooms,” says Mort, whose career began at WXYZ-ABC in Detroit, took him to major network stations in Chicago and St. Louis, and concluded at Detroit’s WJBK Fox 2 News.
“One of the reasons I wrote this book is to expose what happens behind closed doors in the media,” adds the founder of top TV news talent agency Mort Meisner Associates. “And I’m telling my personal stories because they raise provocative questions about our world. They’ll make you laugh, cry, and cringe, and really think about life.”
Mort offers a behind-the-scenes look into big city newsrooms with stories about:
• Witnessing racism and sexism;
• Getting a shockingly mean response from his hero—Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko—the first time they met.
• Sharing unique moments with rising star John Quinones, now host of the hit ABC series, What Would You Do?
• Unintentionally breaking the news to John Belushi’s mother that the comedian had died of a drug overdose.
• Participating in rampant cocaine use in the industry.
• Beating the national network competition to provide Emmy Award-winning coverage of the Nancy Kerrigan ice skating attack story.
• Helping to catch a serial rapist and killer.
• Working with the legendary Detroit anchor Bill Bonds, named in the “Best of” section as Best Male Anchor.
• Recruiting former St. Louis KSDK-NBC anchor Huel Perkins to become Fox 2 Detroit’s top anchor, and host of the popular Let It Rip! show. Huel wrote the Foreword.
• Hiring reporter Micah Materre, now a lead anchor at Chicago’s WGN.
• Grooming former St. Louis KSDK-NBC reporter John Noel to become an outstanding, award-winning journalist at Detroit’s Fox WJBK, who ascended to America’s top TV market as a WNBC reporter in New York.
Also in the book written with Stephanie Ruopp, Mort describes how he opposed racism amongst some TV news managers who dubbed Black male reporters as “garbage men” and assigned them the worst stories. In the book, he writes:
Who were they? The young to middle-aged Black males who were talented reporters, but were often there merely to fill a quota during changing times in the industry and the country. The whole scene disgusted me. I thought… if someone is good enough to be here, then they should be assigned to cover any story.
That’s not how it worked, though.
They would ponder which stories they felt Black reporters “could handle.” It was insulting and degrading. As a white male young pup in the industry at that time, I could listen, watch, and then try to impact change when I had the opportunity.
Mort also opposed sexist behavior toward female journalists.
From the start, the book chronicles Mort’s unlikely success story that begins amidst violence and cruelty in an abusive childhood home and racially turbulent Detroit neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s. He writes: “It wasn’t uncommon for me or my mom to be tossed down the stairs by my dad as if we were rag dolls.”
Mort also describes struggles with cocaine addiction as an attempt to soothe wounds inflicted by his parents’ abuse and the wrongs of the world. He also shares poignant moments about his family, and revelations about the power to heal.
This gripping memoir also includes fun stories from Mort’s early years as a concert promoter while studying journalism at the University of Detroit. He shares experiences from the 1970s sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll scene while working alongside the likes of David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and KISS.
Praise is pouring in for the book.
“Mort Meisner’s deep-dive behind the scenes of television news during its heyday will shock and surprise,” says Jay Levine, former anchor and chief correspondent for CBS O&O WBBM in Chicago. “This brutally honest portrayal of major market news anchors and reporters, and the culture he describes, replete with troubling examples of racism, sexism, and widespread drug use, makes Meisner more than ‘enough to be dangerous’ to the legacy of television news.”
“Enough To Be Dangerous takes us on quite a ride!” says Diana Lewis, former TV news anchor at WXYZ-ABC Detroit. “Mort gives us a peek behind the curtains of the music business, the news business, and into the heart of a man who could have been defeated by a tragic upbringing, but instead stuck to his passion and created quite a life! Mort… gives back… being a true force of positive change for black journalists. A great read!”
“A no-holds-barred look at big city TV new in its heyday,” says John “Bulldog” Drummond, the former mob and crime reporter for CBS O&O WBBM in Chicago. “Mort Meisner tells of the highs and lows of running a news operation in major markets like Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. Meisner minces no words as he also grapples with a drug habit that almost takes him down. Enough to be Dangerous is a great read.”
Former Detroit Police Chief and Deputy Mayor Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon, PhD says: “I have known Mort Meisner for 35 years. He is one of the most positive individuals who possess a broader picture of the world and of the common man. Mort’s story will grab your heart, touch your soul, and you’ll love every page.”
Mort Meisner is available for media interviews.
Please contact 248-613-0948 or Mort@mortmeisner.com
to schedule.
PENS MEMOIR EXPOSING RACISM, SEXISM, DRUG USE, AND MORE
After decades of leadership in big-city TV news, Mort Meisner is turning the lens on his own life in Enough to Be Dangerous, a memoir exposing personal stories that are as shocking and scandalous as anything he aired during a newscast.
The book was released on October 1, 2020 by Two Sisters Writing & Publishing. It’s available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other online retailers. Mort is blogging weekly and speaking about racism and sexism in the news industry during media interviews.
“Unfortunately, the racism and sexism that I witnessed during the 80’s and 90’s are still a problem in some newsrooms,” says Mort, whose career began at WXYZ-ABC in Detroit, took him to major network stations in Chicago and St. Louis, and concluded at Detroit’s WJBK Fox 2 News.
“One of the reasons I wrote this book is to expose what happens behind closed doors in the media,” adds the founder of top TV news talent agency Mort Meisner Associates. “And I’m telling my personal stories because they raise provocative questions about our world. They’ll make you laugh, cry, and cringe, and really think about life.”
Mort offers a behind-the-scenes look into big city newsrooms with stories about:
• Witnessing racism and sexism;
• Getting a shockingly mean response from his hero—Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko—the first time they met.
• Sharing unique moments with rising star John Quinones, now host of the hit ABC series, What Would You Do?
• Unintentionally breaking the news to John Belushi’s mother that the comedian had died of a drug overdose.
• Participating in rampant cocaine use in the industry.
• Beating the national network competition to provide Emmy Award-winning coverage of the Nancy Kerrigan ice skating attack story.
• Helping to catch a serial rapist and killer.
• Working with the legendary Detroit anchor Bill Bonds, named in the “Best of” section as Best Male Anchor.
• Recruiting former St. Louis KSDK-NBC anchor Huel Perkins to become Fox 2 Detroit’s top anchor, and host of the popular Let It Rip! show. Huel wrote the Foreword.
• Hiring reporter Micah Materre, now a lead anchor at Chicago’s WGN.
• Grooming former St. Louis KSDK-NBC reporter John Noel to become an outstanding, award-winning journalist at Detroit’s Fox WJBK, who ascended to America’s top TV market as a WNBC reporter in New York.
Also in the book written with Stephanie Ruopp, Mort describes how he opposed racism amongst some TV news managers who dubbed Black male reporters as “garbage men” and assigned them the worst stories. In the book, he writes:
Who were they? The young to middle-aged Black males who were talented reporters, but were often there merely to fill a quota during changing times in the industry and the country. The whole scene disgusted me. I thought… if someone is good enough to be here, then they should be assigned to cover any story.
That’s not how it worked, though.
They would ponder which stories they felt Black reporters “could handle.” It was insulting and degrading. As a white male young pup in the industry at that time, I could listen, watch, and then try to impact change when I had the opportunity.
Mort also opposed sexist behavior toward female journalists.
From the start, the book chronicles Mort’s unlikely success story that begins amidst violence and cruelty in an abusive childhood home and racially turbulent Detroit neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s. He writes: “It wasn’t uncommon for me or my mom to be tossed down the stairs by my dad as if we were rag dolls.”
Mort also describes struggles with cocaine addiction as an attempt to soothe wounds inflicted by his parents’ abuse and the wrongs of the world. He also shares poignant moments about his family, and revelations about the power to heal.
This gripping memoir also includes fun stories from Mort’s early years as a concert promoter while studying journalism at the University of Detroit. He shares experiences from the 1970s sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll scene while working alongside the likes of David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and KISS.
Praise is pouring in for the book.
“Mort Meisner’s deep-dive behind the scenes of television news during its heyday will shock and surprise,” says Jay Levine, former anchor and chief correspondent for CBS O&O WBBM in Chicago. “This brutally honest portrayal of major market news anchors and reporters, and the culture he describes, replete with troubling examples of racism, sexism, and widespread drug use, makes Meisner more than ‘enough to be dangerous’ to the legacy of television news.”
“Enough To Be Dangerous takes us on quite a ride!” says Diana Lewis, former TV news anchor at WXYZ-ABC Detroit. “Mort gives us a peek behind the curtains of the music business, the news business, and into the heart of a man who could have been defeated by a tragic upbringing, but instead stuck to his passion and created quite a life! Mort… gives back… being a true force of positive change for black journalists. A great read!”
“A no-holds-barred look at big city TV new in its heyday,” says John “Bulldog” Drummond, the former mob and crime reporter for CBS O&O WBBM in Chicago. “Mort Meisner tells of the highs and lows of running a news operation in major markets like Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. Meisner minces no words as he also grapples with a drug habit that almost takes him down. Enough to be Dangerous is a great read.”
Former Detroit Police Chief and Deputy Mayor Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon, PhD says: “I have known Mort Meisner for 35 years. He is one of the most positive individuals who possess a broader picture of the world and of the common man. Mort’s story will grab your heart, touch your soul, and you’ll love every page.”
Mort Meisner is available for media interviews.
Please contact 248-613-0948 or Mort@mortmeisner.com
to schedule.
Mort Meisner
Mort Meisner Associates
+1 248-613-0948
email us here