The Monday Media Diet with Fred Graver

Fred Graver (FG) is a writer and a media executive. He’s had an incredibly interesting career. He’s been writing on AI and creativity on his Substack here. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I come from a time when one could pride themselves on reading / hearing / seeing “everything.” 70s, 80s, 90s... And I was one of those people. I read voraciously, dug through the crates at the record (cd) stores for music, went to the bookstore with a copy of the NY Review of Books and the Times Book Review under my arm.

It’s SO SO SO hard to do that now. Do you have any idea how much music comes out every week? In so many different genres? Thanks to an amazing bookstore owner (Karen at Shakespeare & Co on Manhattan’s Upper West Side), I have a guide to new books. And streaming makes it hard not to drown in new TV. (My wife and I watch A LOT of TV... see below.)

I’ve made most of my living In TV, as a comedy writer and producer (3 Emmy’s for Letterman / Late Night, Noms for Cheers and In Living Color... Creator of “Best Week Ever”...I know... I’m OLD!). I turned the corner into Technology in the late 90s and worked as head of TV partnerships at Twitter, with 1 Emmy for Technology Innovation.

That said -- being a comedy writer in pop culture is a lot like being a pro athlete. One day they just kind of look at you and say “You’re knees are goin’, buddy, and you’ve lost a little off your fastball.” Now, I’m currently working with the AI teams at Microsoft, helping to explain the power of AI to Microsoft customers.

At heart, I’m a writer. I’ve written something creative every day of my life since I was 12 years old. I have to do it. It’s a compulsion.

Recently. I’ve started using AI as part of my writing process. I’m sharing the entire process and the results on my substack. The AI Writers’ Room.

Describe your media diet.

I watch a LOT of TV! A LOT. My wife ran the Talent department at Letterman, so watching TV with the two of us is like watching a baseball game with a couple of people who used to play in the majors. There’s a lot of “Oh, that’s what they’re going to do...” “Oh, that’s not good...” and once in a while “Smart!”

We’re all over the place in our viewing. I have all the TV apps -- BritBox, Acorn, MHz... and all the “Pluses”.

One thing that we have a real taste for... (following the metaphor of “diet” here...) A huge cohort of working British actors and writers that we discovered during Covid. People like Toby Jones, Joanna Scanlon. Tamsin Greg. Nicola Walker. Olivia Colman and Andrew Scott before they blew up! You get the idea.

It’s not that we go searching for them... We just take a particular joy in seeing one pop up on the screen. “Oh look, it’s one of our friends!”

What’s the last great book you read?

It’s a toss up. (Yeah, I know, that’s a cheat)... The Bee Sting by Paul Murray or Claire Keegan’s collection “Antarctica.” There’s so so much great writing coming out of Ireland these days. (See this great summary in the Guardian.)

Bee Sting takes you into a really dysfunctional family and community in Dublin. As this very wild story careens along, the POV shifts from family member to family member... including the style. Just an enormously smart and fun read.

Claire Keegan is as good as you can get. Every story is just a masterpiece. I can’t get enough of her. For a taste of Claire in movie form, don’t miss “Small Things Like These” with Cillian Murphy.

What are you reading now?

I’ve gone down a 60s / 70s satirical novel rabbit hole: Vonnegut., Catch-22, etc. Part of it is reconnecting with a style I grew up with, part of it is I need to be reminded of a time when voices of protest spoke up loud, clear and also...FUNNY.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

I tend to let the print publications gather on a table, where they stare at me and chide, “OH! I thought you were serious. Never mind.” (New Yorker, NY Review of Books, MIT Tech Review, Atlantic.... Yeah, I’m a cliche.)

Once a week, I pick them up and begin with the table of contents and -- if there is one -- the editor’s note. I tend to go for one or two things that I feel I want or have to read. Then, maybe, I’ll scan the rest of the publication. I’ll rip out pages for “long reads,” which ... maybe I’ll get to them?

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

Okay enough with the reading!!! This is about “media,” right?

Everyone should see “Nickel Boys.” And get over your resistance to the first-person POV... it’s intensely rewarding. Trust me, it’s GREAT.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?

Let’s break this into “non-famous” and “underrated.”

Non-Famous: A streaming app called MHz. (Now MHz + Topic)... Just brilliant TV from around the world. (Okay, mostly Europe.) There’s a great crime series from France called “Spiral” that we love because every time the cops get called to go do something, they screw it up.

Underrated; Apple Notes. On the fly, you can click the microphone and dictate. Done. It uploads and is available on all your devices. (See my productivity rabbit hole below. Apple Notes is still on my “use it every day” list.)

Plane or train?

My wife and I are so divided on this that it really affects how and where we travel. She is a white-knuckle terrified flier. I’m extremely happy as I walk into an airport. We default to east coast train travel. But I LOVE to fly.

What is one place everyone should visit?

Their home town. Go back. Ditch your old baggage. Stand around. Talk to people. Remember where you came from. Treat it like you’re a tourist, stay open. (Maybe don’t tell your family you’re there? Just sayin’.)

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

I always know I’m hitting a wall in my work when I start looking for software to help me stay productive. I recently went down a deep rabbit hole testing Evernote / Notion / Capacities / ClickUp / Obsidian / Things / ToDoist / Tana... you name it.

And while you might think that asking ChatGPT and Claude to help you sort these out would shorten the entire process, it actually made the rabbit hole dive deeper and longer. Both LLMs made a very good case to keep exploring each option. I even tried to circumvent their suggestions by asking outright, “Which one would you recommend?” They began their response with... “Based on your questions...” UGH.

After 5 days of testing and experimenting, I’m on Notion now. OH, and I broke through my writers’ block, mostly because I got extremely disappointed with myself. (FG)