The truth about entertainment news
When Dr. Scanlon asked me to stand up in front of my entire college broadcast journalism class and deliver a story on the political unrest in the Republic of Azerbaijan — I was horrified.
My stomach flipped, my hands grew sweaty and my mouth dried up like the Mojave Desert. Telling a story in front of hundreds of my peers was one thing, but wrapping my mind and words around something happening a world away freaked me out and it wouldn’t be the first time.
In fact, freaking out seemed to be woven into the very texture of becoming a budding journalist. My first TV job uprooted me to a strange city where I worked relentless hours for shit money, but that’s not what freaked me out.
It was chasing my first tornado, watching a raging brush fire burn down someone’s beloved home and seeing a dead baby at the scene of a tragic car accident that gutted me. I cried a lot at the beginning of my career and wondered, albeit silently, if I really had the chops to make it as a journalist.
After a few years of hard news, I found respite in a weekly features segment my news director stoically assigned me. At first, I hated it and he knew it. “Happy News?” Who has time for that? I was busy laying the ground work for something special: War Reporter, White House Correspondent, International On-Air Specialist (think Christiane Amanpour.) Entertainment was NOT my cup of tea, but apparently, my bosses thought otherwise.
Eventually, my segment about interesting people, intriguing places and fun parties became so popular locally, the powers-that-be asked me to name it. I agreed on one condition – they never take hard news away from me and that’s how “Shireen On The Scene” came to be.
Over the years, my serious stories gave way to anchor promotions, but my weekly features remained intact — until a bigger city came calling. My next job, as a full-fledged entertainment journalist, would change the trajectory of my career forever and before I knew it, I had a whole other level of freak-outs: aggressive travel, finding my way around Hollywood, New York City, interviewing television actors and the occasional movie star.
David Duchovny (from The X-Files) was my first celebrity one-on-one and he was beyond gracious, but finding my footing amongst Hollywood’s elite wasn’t something I was born with; I had to learn and cultivate it while maintaining my journalistic integrity.
Along the way, I had moments of hyper-insecurity and feelings of not being good enough. Making matters worse — the deep cliques inside the entertainment reporting world. I was shunned by certain colleagues and spoken ill of (not even behind my back) and excluded from group activities and after work get-togethers. Despite, the anguish it caused me…
I remember this part of my career fondly and not because of the rich and famous or the eccentric reporters, but because I worked at a television station in the Midwest where the people were kind and the show I worked on was a close-knit family. My “On The Scene” segments weren’t just about celebrities, they had morphed into live features reporting, too.
I spent years doing live-shot after live-shot showcasing museums, musicals, restaurants, vintage stores, bands, parades, sporting events; the list goes on. One of my favorite assignments was going live from Las Vegas as my best friend got hitched by an Elvis impersonator (I was his best “wo-MAN.”) There was so much joy in all of it.
The smiling, laughing and feel-good moments were incredibly rewarding. It was then that I realized “Happy News” was a gift I had been afforded the extraordinary privilege of giving. And as fate would have it, when I finally relinquished my Christiane Amanpour reporting dreams – the universe opened up and showered me with gifts.
One of them was South Florida and Deco Drive. By then, I knew my way around Hollywood and NYC and solidified a few strong friendships on the celebrity junket circuit, but the freak-outs still came. Miami was a beast in itself: large and in charge, but it was nothing compared to what happened inside the walls of WSVN (one of the best television stations in the country.)
It was fast, demanding and extremely competitive. Everything was expected and nothing was given, especially respect. THAT you earned. American Idol, award shows, movie and television stars, singers (rock, pop, opera). It was entertainment on crack. I traveled the world doing mind-blowing assignments and watched as the news business turned its sights on celebrities, dubbing it “info-tainment.”
Before I knew it (on any given day,) I could be the lead on the 6 o’clock news. #HowDidThatHappen? I was officially a new kind of Christiane Amanpour and even though it wasn’t war, sometimes it felt like it. I dealt with shitty celebrities, mean publicists and psychotic entertainment reporters. One time on a television junket, I was pushed against a wall and choked by an actor’s manager for asking “the wrong question”. It took five reporters to get the woman off me. I didn’t press charges because she was fired.
I’ll never forgive John Travolta’s cranky publicist for aggressively demeaning me after giving John a cheeky award from Deco Drive. It was around Oscar time and we bequeathed him the title: “Best Celebrity Cockpit.” He was a pilot (for the love of God) and everyone at Deco loved him. John couldn’t have been more delightful during our interview, but afterward his publicist yelled in my face (stinky spit and all); threatening to have me fired because he felt Deco was insinuating something else. Oh, the stories I have.
It wasn’t all a battle — for every batshit-crazy actor, publicist and manager, there were dozens of amazing ones, too. And I do mean amazing. Talented. Gracious and good. It was the same for reporters: while some were mean-spirited opportunists looking to unseat you from your job, others were smart, funny and insanely good at what they did. And giving of their knowledge, time and expertise.
So, here we are. At the end of this blog. Yes, there have been other stops in my career, but being promoted to co-host of Deco Drive was one of the proudest moments of my life. All of the hard work, moxie, sacrifice and skill, paid off.
On a nondescript news day in the Deco Plex, my bosses gave me a cake with pink flowers that read: “Congratulations, Shireen.” I cried. Just like I did at the beginning of my career, but this time, I knew I had the chops to make it as a journalist. 😊
Since then, entertainment news and all of its trappings have become ~TRANSPARENT~ at least to me. As a graduated Entertainment Host/Reporter, I know this for sure…
Celebrities lose their jobs, struggle financially, suffer mental illness, get addicted to drugs, their babies die, their houses burn down and while some of them have extraordinary gifts (Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, Whitney, Prince, Michael,) they’re just like the rest of us. Trying to find happiness, fulfillment and meaning. It’s just how we’re built and tragedy befalls all of us, even the greatest and most gifted. With that being said…
My college professor, Dr. Scanlon, died a long time ago, but his lessons live on — in me. And while The Republic of Azerbaijan eventually won its own democracy (freeing itself from communism,) in a way, I did, too.
I’m definitely not the hard news journalist I thought I’d be; in fact, I’m worlds away from it and I’m pretty sure being ~TRANSPARENT~ about it is what Dr. Scanlon would have wanted — and that’s why it’s one of my Favorite Things.
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Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond.Hunter S. Thompson
