The Most Exciting Stuff at the TV Press Tour Has Nothing To Do With TV

You may remember that last summer, John Edwards ducked into the Beverly Hilton to see his mistress, coincidentally during the final night of the summer TV Critics press tour.

This time out, as winter TV Critics press tour continued over the weekend at the Universal Hilton, gang intervention worker Marlo “Bow Wow” Jones allegedly robbed and beat up a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Jones, at the Universal City Hilton hotel. According to the L.A. Times, Jones’ arrest ” arrest has again shaken the world of gang intervention, which relies on former gang members to help police prevent violence and get gang members out of the life.”

Press tour: Come for the TV hype, stay for the unrelated news events.

(Thanks to Jon for the head’s up.)

My 25th TV Critics Association Press Tour

Twice a year, the Television Critics Association — a national grouping of TV scribes from newspapers, radio, TV and the Internet — throw their television press tour. I’m not a critic, but enough execs attend and hold sessions that it’s worth my time; it’s also still a kick to check out the panels on new and returning TV series.

This winter’s event marks my 25th press tour, having covered the event since the summer of 1996. A lot has changed: The tour is much less lavish than when I first started covering the beat (and from what I understand, by 1996 the tour had already dumped most of its lavish elements), and the networks spend a lot less time hawking their wares than they used to. In the summer of 1996, each network spent three days a piece, promoting every new show, miniseries and movie, and daypart. This winter, most networks are taking just a portion of a day, sharing time with their cable brethren.

Nonetheless, it’s gonna be a busy week, so posting may be a little lighter than usual.

Above, a famous shot from 1997 (post on Alan Sepinwall’s site), when embattled ABC Entertainment president Jamie Tarses was forced to defend her tenure… and respond to rumors that she was about to be fired. That’s young me (well, the back of my head and right ear) on the far left, writing on a notepad.