Former NY Times Journalist talks about drinking and journalism

Thanks to MediaBistro, a media-centric news content provider and creator (that, I might add, always advertises amazing panels, classes, and jobs in one's area), I recently discovered Big Think, a "global online forum connecting people and ideas" through videos from experts in particular fields. Big Think hosts pages from each of their "experts", one such individual being Gay Talese, a former New York Times journalist and non-fiction writer who is credited with bringing "storytelling into the practice of journalism". It makes sense that a site like Big Think would consider him an "expert", even though he has not been as active as of late with his writing practices: his way of writing and relating to the world seems to be very similar with the way that modern-day bloggers share their views with their readers.

Little segue: I've been watching Mad Men quite a bit lately, and although I am not quite caught up enough to start watching the 3rd season live, I have watched enough of the show to assert that the show is a fascinating case study of several things: gender roles, the American Dream, power, and, among others, our nation's relationship with substances. Everyone on that show seems to be constantly ingesting something, usually cigarette smoke or alcohol in its myriad forms -- hell, Don needed about five beers just to finish building his kids' playhouse. But in this interview with Gay Talese, the former journalist puts all their afternoon office drinking and after-work inebriation to shame. "Hell," he states, "journalism was beyond that [what you see in Mad Men]...It's a wonder the paper could even get out."

See the video below for a fun recollection of the mighty journalists from days of yore passing out face first on their typewriters.