Susan Reinhardt, perhaps the Asheville Citizen-Times‘ most well-known columnist, says she’s going to start starring in a video version of her column. That’s an interesting move. The Citizen-Times dove into video a couple of years ago, then pulled way back after last year’s wave of revenue losses and resulting budget cuts and lay-offs.
For several years now, Reinhardt has had her own podcast — a simple audio recording of her riffing about everything from boob jobs to talking about her crazy family. It’s called “Susan Uncensored” and it can be pretty darn raunchy for an organization that produces a “family” newspaper.
It’ll be interesting to watch this latest move. As the newspaper has cut back on staff and the pages it prints, it has begun to rely more heavily on its writer/reporter personalities. There’s this move with Reinhardt. Columnist John Boyle, as curmudgeonly city observer, is writing two or three columns a week, with several of his columns appearing, inexplicably, on the front page of the newspaper. And Tony Kiss, as the beer guy, is writing non-stop about local craft brew and entertainment. Susan, John and Tony have all been around for awhile, but the newspaper isn’t developing any new talent, as far as I can tell, and
Susan doesn’t give us a lot of detail, but here’s a part of her column in today’s newspaper:
I never had the desire as a youth to go into TV. Everyone would see your zits and imperfections, and the money spent on clothing and upkeep might deplete all bank accounts.
These TV types are polished, with their high-tech dental whitening, fancy clothes and perfect skin and makeup. They probably never sit around their newsrooms wearing flip-flops on Casual Fridays. They most likely don’t stuff their desks with foods to later stuff into their chiseled faces. God love ’em and their honed and toned bodies and voices.
And then one sunny morning out of the blue, the world turned upside down.
My editor, the one who typically begs for photos and other packages to go with the stories in the paper, decided to put me and other podcasters on camera. “Your podcasts,” she e-mailed, “will now be videocasts.”
What? For a few years I’d enjoyed recording “Susan Uncensored” in the dark cool air of Studio A in our building. It was just me and an assortment of fall guys, those with whom to banter and blather back and forth
“Video?” I asked.
“You’ll have to dress up some,” she said, and a wave of fear gripped. “You also might want to include guests.” Darn right I’ll be inviting guests. That way, the camera’s on them and not me. So, if you are funny or controversial, call or e-mail me. You can wear whatever you choose.
And you don’t even have to get your ears pinned back.
2 Comments
Jenny — I don’t know you and I am sure you are a nice person — but stop dissing Susan!
She’s a very talented writer.
John and Tony are great writers too.
Don’t blame the local talent for the problems with Ganette.
I agree that the AC-T is on life support — and I, for one, think it sucks.
When local journalism disappears —- where does that leave the public?
Unimformed and uncaring.
OMG….she’s going to be doing a video after her train-wreck appearance on the "Today Show" a few years ago! I have never understood the appeal of Susan Reinhardt. Her writing is banal and may have been novel for WNC years ago, but she keeps on with the same tired old stuff year after year.
She’s in good company at the Citizen-Times along with John Boyle and Tony Kiss. Boyle tries to hard to be funny and doesn’t always pull it off and the beer guy Kiss is just weak all round.
The Citizen-Times is on life-support right now. It won’t be long before one of them will be called on to write the paper’s final obituary.