Meisner, Mort

WXYZ: TV news assignment desk.

References:

• Mort Meisner Associates

• WXYZ Assignment Desk

  An amazing crew!

  

• WXYZ 2013 Alumni Reunion

  

• Sloat Leaves Channel 2

  Christine Sloat, the new director at WJBK-TV, Channel 2, resigned Monday, citing creative differences with top management at the station.

  

• Enough to Be Dangerous: One Agent’s Life in TV News and Rock & Roll by Mort Meisner

  

  Mort Minces No Words

  As a child in racially turbulent Detroit, Mort Meisner witnessed an attack on a black boy as white parents shouted the n-word and threw rocks to protest bussing to integrate his elementary school in 1960.

  A short time later, seven-year-old Mort stood helpless and crying as white teens yelled slurs at his Jewish mother while attacking her. This – and the vicious beatings that his father inflicted on Mort, his brother, and his mother inside their run-down home – instilled in him a deep disdain for hatred, violence, and discrimination.

  Then, a passion for sports and storytelling inspired Mort to study broadcast journalism at the University of Detroit by day, while working as a rock ‘n roll promoter for famous musicians by night. The wild hedonism of the 1970s rock scene, along with the tragic and troubling chaos of his childhood, laid a unique and bold foundation to launch Mort’s career as a renegade for positive change in the TV news industry.

  Enough to Be Dangerous chronicles Mort’s against-the-odds success, and his courageous quest to call out sexism and racism in newsrooms in St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

  Compelling and Honest

  In this hard-hitting memoir, Mort exposes rampant racism amongst TV news managers who dubbed black male reporters as “garbagemen” and assigned them the worst stories of the day. Mort fought to change this, but at times realized he was fighting an impossible battle against a racist system, even when he took his case to the EEOC.

  Mort also spoke up and out against degrading treatment of female reporters and anchors. And he was never afraid to take his complaints to the leaders of America’s major media networks.

  With stories that will make you laugh, cry, and cringe, Mort bares his soul on the pages of Enough to Be Dangerous, by sharing his 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.

  Now a leading broadcast news talent agent for journalists across America, Mort Meisner invites you to dive into his timely insights and experiences that echoes today’s headlines about journalism, racism, and sexism. The book balances the somber stories with scenes that titillate with sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.

  When you read Enough to Be Dangerous, you’ll get an unforgettable peek into a life fully lived and a legacy that’s leaving a powerful imprint on TV news and people everywhere.

  References:

  • The Oakland Press, Monica Drake, July 13, 2020 – Former news executive Mort Meisner speaks out against newsroom racism and sexism in new memoir

Recommended Reading

TV Land–Detroit

An in-depth and personal look at the most popular and best-remembered local shows from the golden years of Detroit TV

Long before cable, prepackaged syndication, infomercials, do-it-yourselfers, and reality shows cluttered the television dial, there was a brand of entertainment that has today nearly vanished from the airwaves: local TV. And with its colorful and quirky cast of characters, Detroit TV arguably offered some of the best of the best of local programming anywhere in the nation-a smorgasbord of exuberant, one-of-a-kind television shows.

Based on actual interviews with the people who made Detroit TV, Gordon Castelnero’s TV Land-Detroit awakens the emotional attachment and nostalgia our community has for these shows, bringing the beloved characters and memorable programs back to life.

From the glamorous Rita Bell to the insanity of the Ghoul, the zany Jingles in Boofland to the opinionated and often confrontational Lou Gordon and the gruff-voiced and somnolent George Pierrot, Castelnero reacquaints us with the talent and behind-the-scenes people, of the creative spirit in Detroit, and the intimacy they shared with the community both on and off the air.

Gordon Castelnero was a producer at WNIC radio for four years. He produced the acclaimed documentaries for WDIV and WTVS, Michigan, It Started Here! Michigan and the American Dream, and Titanic: The Final Chapter. He currently lives in Livonia, Michigan, and works at Technicolor in DVD and game media distribution.