Les Brown (journalist)

American journalist

Les Brown

Born|

Lester Louis Brown

20 December 1928

Indiana Harbor, East Chicago, IN

Died| 4 November 2013 (age 84)

Larchmont, NY

Nationality| American (first-generation)
Occupation(s)| Journalist, publisher
Known for| Pioneer reporter on the business of television
Spouse| Jean Brown (Slaymaker)
Children| Jessica Brown, Joshua Brown, Rebecca Brown Adelman
Parent(s)| Irving Brown and Helen Feigenbaum
Relatives| Marion Brown Raisman, Anita Brown Duxler
Academic background
Education| B.A. English (1950)
Alma mater| Roosevelt University

Lester Louis Brown (20 December 1928 - 4 November 2013) was an American "pioneer in television journalism".[1] He was also a publisher and book author, with topics reporting on the business of television.[2] He founded a magazine called Channels of Communications in 1981.[1]

## Family and childhood

[edit]

### Early life

[edit]

Brown was born in Indiana Harbor, East Chicago, Indiana, on 20 December 1928.[3] He was a first generation American of Polish-German Jewish descent. His parents, Irving H. Brown and Helen Feigenbaum, migrated to the United States shortly before the First World War.[4] His father ran a store and Brown grew up with his sisters, Marion and Anita.[5] He was the first of his family to attend college, graduating from Roosevelt University.

### Family

[edit]

He met Jean Rosalie Slaymaker when she was working at the Chicago Sun Times. They had their first child, Jessica, in 1960. He moved the family in 1965 to settle in Larchmont, New York, where they had two more children, Joshua and Rebecca.[6]

## Journalism

[edit]

His journalism career began in the Army, writing a newsletter for his post. Returning to Chicago, he joined the show-business newspaper Variety. In 1965, he transferred to New York to become Variety's TV/radio editor.[7] Passed over when the Variety editor Abel Green died in 1973, Brown joined the New York Times as radio/television editor.[8] During his career, he covered television events such as Watergate.[9]

## Books

[edit]

His book in 1971, Televi$ion: The Business Behind the Box,[10] "was pioneering in its depiction about how the TV industry actually did and didn't work."[11]

Les Brown's Encyclopedia of Television was first published as The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television[12]

Keeping Your Eye on Television. 1979. Pilgrim Press[13] ISBN 9780829803761

Fast Forward: The New Television and American Society, with Savannah Waring Walker. 1983. Andrews McMeel Publications, ISBN 9780836262087

Electric Media, by Les Brown and Sema Marks, was one of six books in the "Making Contact" series published by Harcourt Brace. It covers two technologies then overtaking the US: television (Brown) and computers (Marks). ISBN 0-15-318734-4

## Publishing

[edit]

During a strike at The New York Times in 1981,[14] Brown founded Channels of Communication as a non-profit venture funded by the Markle Foundation. Channels was later acquired by Norman Lear.[15] Brown left in 1987 and Channels folded in 1990.[16]

Brown launched a trade magazine, Television Business International, in 1988. It was also owned by Norman Lear's Act III Publishing. He was editor until 1992, then a columnist.[17]

## Music

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Brown opened the Gate of Horn, a 100-seat folk music club in Chicago in 1956[18] with his college classmate Albert Grossman. Grossman later managed Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and The Band. The Gate of Horn hosted Roger McGuinn, Odetta, Lenny Bruce and Bill Cosby, among other future stars.

During those days, Brown wrote the lyrics to the song "Abilene". Set to music by John D. Loudermilk, it was first recorded by Bob Gibson. A cover version by George Hamilton IV reached number one on the country music chart for four weeks. "Abilene" is a country standard, and the name of one of Brown's granddaughters.

## Social issues

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Ten years before the birth of social media, Brown warned about the dangers to democracy as sources of news and commentary proliferated.[19]

Brown frequently wrote on subjects of regulation.[20]

## References

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1. ^ a b Slotnik, Daniel E. (13 November 2013). "Les Brown, Pioneer in Television Journalism, Dies at 84". The New York Times.
2. ^ Johnson, Nicholas (21 November 1971). "Showbiz, hucksters, and the tube". The New York Times.
3. ^ Indiana Authors and Their Books Indiana University
4. ^ The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Passenger ID 100518010520 Irving H. Brown. Ship Patria, arrival 17 September 1914.
5. ^ John J. Fox Funeral Home. Obituary of Lester Louis Brown
6. ^ "Jean Rosalie Brown, of Larchmont, dies at 85". Daily Voice. 24 January 2014.
7. ^ D'Souza, Charles (12 November 2013). "Lester L. Brown, 84, Of Larchmont, Journalist For Variety, N.Y. Times". Daily Voice.
8. ^ Brown, Les (22 February 1980). "Debate on Satellite Broadcasts Begins; Spontaneous Exchange 'Opportunity of Choice' 'Pay Television Is the Model'". The New York Times.
9. ^ Brown, Les (6 November 1973). "Public TV to Cover Watergate On Nightly Basis Through Tape". The New York Times.
10. ^ Kirkley, Donald Howe; Smith, F. Leslie; Isaacs, Mark (1971). "Literature of broadcasting: Books in review". Journal of Broadcasting. 16: 121–126\. doi:10.1080/08838157109386333.
11. ^ Robins, J. Max (19 November 2013). "Les Brown: The Man Who Wrote The Encyclopedia of Television". Forbes.
\- Indiana University Catalog Television; the business behind the box. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
12. ^ Indiana University Catalog The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television ISBN 0812907213. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
13. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (14 November 2013). "Les Brown, Journalist and Former Variety Scribe, Dead at 84". Variety.
\- Hofer, Stephen F., Richard E. Caplan, James E. Fletcher, Kathleen P. Mahoney and Brian Rose (1980). "Books in review". Journal of Broadcasting. 24 (1): 101–108\. doi:10.1080/08838158009363969.`{{cite journal}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. ^ "The City: New Deadline Set For Times Strike". The New York Times. 6 May 1981.
15. ^ Dougherty, Philip H. (15 April 1985). "4-Year-Old Magazine Drops Nonprofit Status". The New York Times.
16. ^ Carmody, Deirdre (8 December 1990). "Channels Magazine to Publish Final Issue". The New York Times.
17. ^ "A Short History of TBI" (PDF). TBI. April–May 2018. p. 16.
18. ^ Jacobson, Don (17 April 2007). "Chicago in Song: Good and Violent". The Beachwood Reporter. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
19. ^ Media Studies Journal, The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, Columbia University, New York, Vol. 6(4), Fall 1992 ISSN 1057-7416
20. ^ Brown, Les (1995). "Self-regulation in American Television in Areas Aside from Program Content. Cardozo Arts & Entertainment". Law Journal. 13 (3): 705–726.

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