Studio 60: Shouldn't Martha O'Dell have been taking notes?

Way to hit the nail on the head, guys. The whole problem with the show was the lack of a reporter carrying a pen. Until there are realistic pen/dictaphone-carrying reporters on Studio 60, I'm not watching. Good call.

I thought that the show was great, as I have thought of all of the series so far. I don't so much knit pick on every detail as much as I just really enjoy the show. Talking about details... in the scene in the bar was the waitress Sherilyn Fenn "Audrey Horn" from Twin Peaks? How I loved Twin Peaks...

Any thoughts on the fact that a Nancy Grace sketch was featured on SNL's Jaime Pressly episode Saturday before last? The not-so-subtle parallels continue to be made between the two shows/networks.

That said, I actually enjoyed this week's episode. I like the way the plot lines are progressing and the characters are strengthening. Martha O'Dell's journalistic integrity aside, the show kept me far more entertained than the week before.

"I really, truly hope you're not commenting on how I go about doing my job, since a) you don't know me and b) you don't know exactly what my methods are."

Then don't put your work up for public consumption.

Geez, you take yourself seriously enough to be a character on an Aaron Sorkin show.

Rob, I really, truly hope you're not commenting on how I go about doing my job, since a) you don't know me and b) you don't know exactly what my methods are.

I agree with you that the quotes should add to the story, not make the story. But a reporter who doesn't take notes is taking too much of a chance, as far as I'm concerned. People are so eager to sue for libel these days, and the Jayson Blairs and Stephen Glasses of the world are putting the veracity of what a journalist writes under more scrutiny than ever before. Recordings and good note-taking are protections against that scrutiny.

If you need a quote to make your story good, then it's not a good story.

Seriously, that's just about Journalism 101. You either have the story, or you don't. The quotes are what put the story over to top, and the memorable quotes are exactly that ... memorable.

Sorry Joel ... I know you mentioned it in the other story, but a good reporter just shouldn't need to take notes (they can always circle around and get the quotes later, but the quotes should NEVER be the focus).

And yes, I am a journalist. Or was, at one time, before the disenchantment set in.

"She did at one point freaked out and ASKED A LOBSTER FOR A PEN."

You guys must have all been distracted while watching the show. She asked for the pen so that she could get Sting's autograph.

"I wouldn't be surprised that even veterans like Bob Woodward record their interviews."

I wouldn't be surprised that he didn't. Most people who talk to Woodward probably don't want to be attributed anyway.

I understand your point, Joel, but I also think there is a distinction between "reporting" for a newspaper and "writing" for a magazine.

actually some of the better reporters (read columnists) don't take notes, there are some stories of times picayune sports columnist Pete Finney down here in the new orleans... he is known to wander the locker room in the superdome asking players questions sans pen and paper and then quoting them word for word the next day in the paper... some reporters just have the knack i guess (or write about something where a little fudging doesn't matter)

i take notes too as does my father (the reporter) so this isn't industry wide...

Ray in #9 is correct. Martha was explicitly asked why she wasn't taking notes and she said she didn't need to. The implication being, I assume, that she had some sort of sponge-like retentive memory. But I agree with Joel: in today's litigious world, it's stupid not to have notes.

Speaking of Martha--she had a crust asking Harriet about her "old-fashioned" name. Because "Martha" is so up-to-the-minute.

On the topic of the show's comedy: The Nancy Grace sketch was not nearly as funny as it should have been, although the premise was good. The only sketch that I thought worked was the one they wanted to cut: Jenny doesn't have a baby.

Joel, I get that you know she didn't have a Pen. My point is that she didn't need to write anything down because no one was telling her anything worth writing down, and when Harriet finally told her something worth while she was caught off guard.

yes it was a journalistic faux pas and that was the point ...a strong character become vulnerable.