Hollywood Reporter Alex Ben Block Shares His Insights on the Upcoming Awards Season, Highlights from this Year’s TV Press Tour, Oprah’s New Cable Network and the Changing of the Guard at CNN Part I
Co-hosts Brad Forsythe & Ray Schilens interview Alex Ben Block, award-winning entertainment industry journalist, author, commentator and talk show host. Alex Ben Block is Senior Editor of The Hollywood Reporter and lead editor on the book, “George Lucas’s Blockbusting,” published to great acclaim in January 2010. Block is also show business historian for Hollywood Today and a regular contributor to The Advertising Show, a nationally syndicated radio program.
Block is a popular public speaker, toastmaster, M.C. and moderator. His panels at the Paley Center for Media included one-on-one with Roseanne Barr, a look at Fox’s “Prison Break” and a dialogue about the image of Arabs on TV with producers of “24” and “Lost.”
As Director of Programming, Block produced panels and created the first 3-D Day for The American Pavilion during the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. He’s moderated and participated in panels at numerous events, including Digital Hollywood, NATPE, Showest and the Hong Kong International Film Market.
In an earlier tenure at the trade publication, Block was the Editor of The Hollywood Reporter for seven years. He launched the first weekly international edition, and the first online edition, while raising the standards of journalism. He was editor of the THR Cannes festival dailies in France six times.
He went on to be founding Editor of TelevisionWeek, which he re-launched in print, and then redesigned on the web. He moderated the SRO TV Week Power Breakfast series and wrote a popular column about hot topics in TV.
In addition, Block has been Associate Editor of Forbes Magazine, covering Hollywood, movie critic and entertainment editor in Miami, columnist and critic in Detroit as well as City Editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
Block was Executive Director of the Los Angeles Press Club and remains an honorary board member. He organized a HerEx reunion as well as numerous panels, including one with the Annenberg School at USC – “Who Can Be Trusted? – A Seminar On Sourcing,” sponsored by the New York Times and Discovery Networks.
Block was Editor-in-Chief and VP of the internet company eStar.com. He wrote the books, “OUTFOXED: The Inside Story of America’s Fourth Television Network,” and the bestseller “The Legend of Bruce Lee.” Block was a regular panelist for five years on KPCC-FM’s “Call Sheet” and has been expert commentator on many news outlets including NPR’s The Business, KPCC-FM’s Air Talk, KNBC-TV, the Today Show, CNBC, CBS News, ABC News, NPR, NBC, O’Reilly on Fox, CNN and more.
Block’s honors include three LA Press Club Awards for journalistic excellence, Hearst Awards, Crain Awards, a Detroit Press Club Award, a Will Rogers Foundation Award, the (RIM) Angel Award and the Journalism Award from the Caucus For Television Producers, Directors and Writers presented by CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves.
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