Publishers

Andrew Breitbart: From High School Humorist to Digital Media Pioneer

Bill Thompson
Photo by Mark Taylor

When the history of digital media is written, one name will figure prominently: Los Angeles-born and raised would-be comedian Andrew Breitbart.

He got his start in journalism in the mid 1980s, with a comedic article in his high school newspaper.

A few years later, Breitbart was instrumental in developing the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, and ultimately Breitbart News.

ttps://amzn.to/46jZfbRGet your copy of Andrew Breitbart’s book

Along the way, he was frequently criticized, even vilified, by mainstream media for his contrarian, often combative,opinions.

In 2011 Breitbart wrote a book called Righteous Indignation – and that’s when I had a few minutes with him.

So here now, from 2011, Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew Breitfbart died in 2012 at age 43 from heart failure.

Conquering Personal Fears: Insights from Arianna Huffington

Bill Thompson
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What are you afraid of?

Beyond the common fears of spiders or tall bridges or public speaking, many people suffer from self-inflicted fears about their appearance, their relationships, or their parenting skills.

And those fears are all but universal, according to author, columnist, and Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington.

Get your copy of Arianna Huffington’s book

In her 2006 book On Becoming Fearless she reveals the fears that she has experienced – and how she overcame them.

I met with her when she was on the author tour for that book. It was one of many conversations we’ve had through the years.

So here now, from 2006, Arianna Huffington.

Arianna Huffington will be 74 in July. and remains active in several business ventures.

Gloria Steinem

Bill Thompson

Ms. Is turning 50

Photo by NARAL Pro-Choice America

It was in December 1971 that a staff writer for the New Yorker named Gloria Steinem created what would become, the following summer, Ms. Magazine.

The December debut was actually an insert in the New Yorker, and it instantly catapulted stynom to the forefront of the feminist movement.

Fast forward to 1992. Gloria Steinem wrote a book called The Revolution Within, and that’s when she and I sat down for one of our several conversations over the years.

So here now, from 1992, gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem will be 88 next March. She remains active as an organizer and lecturer.

Bob Guccione

Bill Thompson

In the world of men’s magazines, Hugh Hefner was king of the hill for years, as publisher of Playboy magazine.

But in 1965, a then-35-year-old laundromat manager, painter, and photographer named Bob Guccione launched a magazine to challenge the Playboy empire.

He called it Penthouse. And by the early 1980s Penthouse had made Guccione one of America’s richest businessmen.

But Penthouse, Playboy, and Larry Flynt’s Hustler had also by then become the targets of conservative and religious groups, eager to see the magazines banished.

I met Bob Guccione in 1986, at the height of his battles with people like Attorney General Ed Meese, and Rev. Donald Wildmon and Rev, Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority.”

So here now, from 1986, Bob Guccione.

Bob Guccione died in 2010. He was 79,

Al Neuharth

Bill Thompson
Photo: John Mathew Smith

Do you have to be kind of an SOB to be a success?

What kind of connotation does that term even have anymore?

Those were two of the key questions that Al Neuharth tried to address in his bestselling memoir “Confessions Of An S.O.B.”

Al Neuharth was the founder of USA Today, as well as The Freedom Forum, and the Newseum. So apparently being an SOB helped him.

So here now, from 1990, Al Neuharth:

Al Neuharth died in 2013, at the age of 89.

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Larry Flynt

Bill Thompson

Larry Flynt is best known for Hustler magazine, which he founded in the mid-1970s, and for the videos and cable TV channels the grew out of the Hustler brand.

But it turns out Larry Flynt was also an amateur student of history.

Ten years ago, fFlynt and a professional historian co-authored a book called “One Nation Under Ssex: How the Private Lives of Presidents, First Ladies, and Their Lovers Change the Course of American History.

So here now, from 2011, Larry Flynt.

Larry Flynt died last month at age 78.