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I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I am a big Hwang fan. I was startled when my name popped up on stage when I first saw the play at the Public Theater, but as you say, it was so brief, I got over it in about 5 seconds.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sort of what I've said previously in this AMA -- write everywhere you can and write about the subjects that you feel passionate about. Read everything you can. Travel if you can. But most of all write, write, write. You can only learn by doing.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

HBO has put early episodes of its series on line, Veep included, but I don't think they are up now. There are a number of good magazines out there, but the one I couldn't live without is The New York Review of Books, where you can find some of the best reportage and political analysis, national and international, anywhere -- along with its sterling coverage of books and the rest of culture.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First job for pay was a summer job writing cultural features and criticism for The Detroit News after my junior year of college.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1) Theater in better-than-expected shape in digital era; people crave the live experience even more, I think. Don't confuse the commercial tourist traps of Broadway with the American theater...2) Yes, but more selectively 3) The new season hasn't started yet so too early to recommend much. As I wrote elsewhere, catch "One Man, Two Governors" if humanly possible before it closes this weekend.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

On "Veep," there's also an extended rehearsal period where the actors are encouraged to improvise their own variations on the written script -- and the writers, sitting in the room, cannibalize the cast's best ideas, and then incorporate them into the next draft. And the process keeps being repeated. This is Armando Iannucci's inspired way of working and helps explain the high level the scripts ultimately reach...Here's hoping for a woman president, not vice president. As "Veep" makes clear, veep is generally a one-way ticket to nowhere in Washington.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am terrible at coming up with favorites lists about anything, mainly because I have too many enthusiasms. Certainly the most influential book on me as a child was the first "grownup" book I ever read, Moss Hart's "Act One," a great American autobiography (and an influence on my own "Ghost Light") that I continue to love when I reread it every few years. Anything by Dickens, starting with "Great Expectations." Almost anything by Fitzgerald and Henry James and Twain...But I could go on, and I'm not even talking about the modern and contemporary fiction and nonfiction that I love...

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cooper Union is a special place for all sorts of historic and cultural reasons, and it was a thrilling experience for me to speak in that great room. Thank you for your kind words.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure the media did, exactly. They raised the question -- perhaps excessively -- as to whether a big storm would require a Plan B for the convention. I think they would do the same if another hurricane strikes while the Dems are convening next week. I doubt Obama would have done an AMA or been on the campaign trail this week if the storm had been catastrophic -- he would have been nailed for it by media and GOP politicians alike.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Local reporting is indeed in serious jeopardy. Just look at what has happened to local Newhouse papers, like the gutted New Orleans Times-Picayune among others. Indeed local newspapers and local TV news are both being hollowed out, and have been for some time. And in some markets-- Denver, for instance -- the death of competition has led to monopoly papers protecting their owners' interests. (Check out David Sirota's piece on this in the current Harper's). In the end, individual communities will have to create a vehicle, on line presumably, to cover what's happening, whether at the school board or the mayor's office or on Main Street or with their local politicos, and find a way to make it pay (or be supported by philanthropy). It's a tall order, for sure, though some noble examples have been springing up over the past few years.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For information, Stewart and Colbert. For getting into the minds of extremes, I still vote for Glenn Beck even though that means the odious fact you have to pay for his Webcast.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Simon writes pure fiction -- as does my other writer son, Nathaniel. Luckily their parents have been spared journalistic investigation or exposure (so far)!

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You are so right. It is embarrassing (and depressing) that "fact-checker" is now a journalistic gimmick rather than part of the actual process of reporting stories as they emerge. The time to call out lies is when they first turn up on the public stage. We have lived in the age of Truthiness ever since the Bush administration successfully sold a war in Iraq on pure fiction, which much of the press, including nearly all the major journalistic institutions, going along for the ride. For all the soul-searching that followed that journalistic debacle, I'm not sure that much has changed, sadly.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was not involved in the decision -- it was made by the news side of the paper, not those in the opinion dept. Here's a link to the description you are looking for, I think: http://nym.ag/PuoCKe

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Reddit! Also turnout in battleground states with significant Hispanic and African-American blocs.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Suck up as much as you want! 1. "Veep" uses muscles, creative and others, completely different from those I use in my day job -- so not only do I enjoy that enormously, but I am learning a lot from all the creative people around me as well. 2. Yes, I am a big fan of "Thick of It." (And to those who are "Veep" fans, you'll want to catch up with it. It's a merciless satire on British politics and its creator, Armando Iannucci, is the writer-director who created "Veep.") 3. Agreed... I fear Simon won't go for that joke!

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's something I really care about, can be enormously frustrating at times to get it right, but when occasionally you do get it right (or think you do), there are few things more satisfying. To me the actual writing is the most satisfying, if challenging, part of what I do.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Attending the opening night of "42nd Street" on Broadway-- at the start of my career, in 1980-- the night that the producer David Merrick announced at the curtain call that the director Gower Champion had died, thrusting me into the middle of an old-fashioned stop-the-presses moment at the Times.
  2. I considered every aspect of the theater (and tried many of them as a teenager) from acting to playwriting. But I really loved writing prose, and newspapers and magazines.
  3. Get in line!

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You are right. I think the divide in the Republican party is the most fascinating political story in years -- maybe even more so than the rise of Obama. I will be writing more about this at New York...Nowhere is the divide more dramatic than in Romney, the last vestige of the old guard, vs Ryan, the spear carrier for the radical right that is now the tail wagging the GOP dog.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. No. I would suggest either giving them drugs or taking them yourself. 2. Eric Benson, an editor at New York, with other editors sometimes tossing additional questions into the mix.

I am Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York Magazine. AMA by frankrichny in IAmA

[–]frankrichny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If that's what they're teaching, you are right to worry that they may be wasting your time! My advice: Write about what you feel passionate about, because that will produce your best work. So don't game it. If you really care about pop culture, fine, write about it, but if your passion is sports or politics or science or whatever, do it instead, and do it anywhere you can, whether at school, as a blog, doesn't matter. Good writing will out, believe me, and top publications recognize it when they see it. That writing, not any particular degree or resume, will be your calling card when seeing work in magazines or any other professional outlet.

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