Another FOC

Friend of Cathy Seipp, that is. The subject of her media column in this week's CityBeat is Rob Long, her pal and fellow National Review contributor who recently took over the KCRW commentary slot vacated by Sandra Tsing Loh, another FOC. By day he writes for television.

Much of Rob’s appeal is his constant good cheer, which, strangely, never seems compromised by his equally constant bitter cynicism about Hollywood, how it works, and how entertainment journalists fail to understand it. (“Variety gets it wrong all the time,” he noted. “A hit and a flop sometimes change within a week of reporting.”) Rob and his writing partner, Dan Staley, have been on the top of the TV heap since running Cheers in its final season 11 years ago, when they were still in their 20s. They’ve had a string of network shows on the air since then, all of which have been quickly cancelled. But they had high hopes for this fall season, with two pilots presented at the upfronts in New York last month. So far, neither have been picked up, although they may still make the midseason schedule.

CityBeat also has a piece on the Griffith Park cougar and a cover story on skater-turned-director Stacy Peralta. The Jewish Journal has a personal piece by screenwriter Robert Avrech, whose rawly emotional blog Seraphic Secret mourns the death of his son Ariel Chaim.