Lou Grant

Asner also plays a Santa Claus in what's become a holiday staple "Elf"

 

News director, not TV producer. World of difference, even in a fictional setting. Ergo, not baffling at all: A hard-nosed editor in a comedy series switches to being a hard-nosed editor in a dramatic series. It was a brilliant programming decision back then.

 

I always thought they referred to Mary Richards at the Associate Producer of the 6 o'clock news and Lou Grant was the producer...but yes, the role was really that of a news director.

 

What the hell, might as well bring this Lou Grant thread up ...

Most of the episodes are now on YouTube, so I'm checking out a few of them.

When it was originally on, I was working weeknights, so I rarely saw the show in its original run.

Right now I'm watching a 1982 episode about a newsroom strike at the Trib.
The first lines of dialogue are about how in 10 years, pasteup jobs will be eliminated because all papers will be laid out by computer.

 

Recently dug up the first Lou Grant episode on YouTube -- first time I'd seen it since the initial season in 1977-78. The reporters and editors were using typewriters, but there was a prototype of a computer terminal in the newsroom (I believe the show went to computers in season 2). The image of Lou attempting to figure out the computer terminal was priceless.

Also quite good was his job interview with Mrs. Pynchon (and her Yorkie). Thought it was somewhat reminiscent of Lou's "You've got spunk -- I hate spunk" job interview with Mary in the first MTM episode.

Amusing but unrealistic: Right after Mrs. Pynchon OK'd his hiring, he went directly to his desk in the newsroom and started working.

 

Someone had asked about Robert Walden uptopic ...

Robert Walden takes acting techniques he learned as 'Lou Grant' reporter Joe Rossi to SXSW workshop | Arts | Dallas News

 

Just finished all 5 seasons on YouTube. Got a bit too drama'y a few times but man, it was a great show.

 

I loved the show. But my main complaint was the reporters got too involved with their subjects. I mean, you go write a story about an orphanage and you wind up adopting a child. Or an animal shelter, etc.
I guess they had to spice up our dreary lives.

 

Yeah, that was overdone at times, probably to capture a general audience. But some of the newsroom characters were close to reality. And the scenes where they start a pool on Richter readings after an earthquake? Reminds me of one stop where we'd try to predict what would happen when a fire track was sent out.

 

The Nazi episode was probably my favorite, especially when Billie meets Peter Weller in the diner for their interview. Pretty intense scene.

 

At most of the papers I worked for, the news staffs had reporters who were much like Rossi and Billie. And I can't recall any photo department that didn't have an Animal.

As for Lou -- make him taller and thinner, add a beard and glasses and turn him into a three-pack-a-day smoker, and you have the faculty managing editor at my college paper. After terrorizing me for two years, he gave me a glowing recommendation that helped me land my first job.

 

Some ideas on what a modern-day "Lou Grant" show might look like:

Mrs. Pynchon no longer would be owner/publisher after selling to Gannett or GateHouse at a distressed price.

Instead of being based in an elegant old downtown building, the Trib would be headquartered in an office park somewhere in L.A. suburbia (I'll leave it to Southern California experts to come up with an appropriate location). Printing would be done remotely.

Lou and Charlie would spend their time poring over the latest analytics and metrics and attempting to formulate a strategy for competing against the digital wizards from tronc.

Billie and Rossi would be busy posting and tweeting, competing less-than-good-naturedly for hits and clicks.

Assuming the "visual" (not "photo") staff survived newsroom layoffs, Animal would be shooting, editing and posting videos.

Donovan, after seeing his assistant city editor job "repurposed," would have a new title: reporting quality control coach.

As suggested in the early days of this thread, a half-dozen people putting out the paper would be realistic now.