Weasel Out of a Ticket & More: Life Lessons from the Creator of COPS
In 1988, John Langley created COPS for the fledgling FOX network. 23 years later, the show is still running. It is the Energizer bunny of prime time television. Since John has followed more police officers and witnessed more crime than any human being on earth (absolutely no question), I had to ask some advice for hypothetical unwanted encounters with the men in blue.
How To: MARK BURNETT on How to Become the Biggest Producer in Prime Time Television
Mark Burnett is, financially speaking, perhaps the most successful television producer today. While I had launched America's Most Wanted and COPS a decade earlier, Mark exploded onto network television with Survivor, the glossy and fantastical innovation to reality television. With Survivor now entering its 11th year, I recently interviewed Mark at the Los Angeles public radio station KCRW, where the podcast will be made available. Below, Mark's 10 steps from soldier-to-nanny-to-premiere-Holl...
How To: DAVID GOLD on How to Make Alotta Millions from 99¢
Being a true cheapskate, I've long worshiped the iconic 99¢ Only Stores and its legendary and late-blooming founder, David Gold. Gold ranked in the Forbes 400 back in 2004, but didn't launch his empire until he was well into his 50s. And just last month, his extended family and private equity firm Leonard Green offered to take the retail chain from public to private—for $1.34 billion. Curious about Gold's unorthodox road to riches, I interviewed him and his wife Sherry at Los Angeles's public...