Where to be & what to watch…
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/25/2008 8:00:00 PM
Monday, May 26
It’s Memorial Day! Hot dogs on the grill, cold Buds in the cooler and, as any grad of a Northeastern U.S. boarding school knows, lacrosse on the television. ESPN airs the NCAA national championship from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., at 1 p.m. ET, as Syracuse, Virginia, Johns Hopkins and Duke vie for the 2008 “lax” title.
Tuesday, May 27
Former New York mayor, author and film critic Ed Koch sits with NY1 News reporter Budd Mishkin at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan to chat about the presidential election and Hizzoner’s new book, The Koch Papers: My Fight Against Anti-Semitism. Speaking of charismatic guys named Ed, The Riches star Eddie Izzard rolls into Minneapolis for some standup at the State Theatre. On the tube, reporter Lowell Bergman investigates “the business of human smuggling across the busy ports of entry between Mexico and the United States” in Frontline’s Mexico: Crimes at the Border on PBS at 9.
Wednesday, May 28
The Gracies are here, as American Women in Radio & Television (AWRT) gives out its annual awards at a black-tie gala at the Marriott Marquis in New York. E! News anchor/Apprentice spouse Giuliana Rancic emcees, Today host Hoda Kotb and FremantleMedia’s Cecile Frot-Coutaz, among many others, get baubles, and National Geographic Ultimate Explorer host Lisa Ling snags the Dove Real Beauty Award. Across the Avenue of the Americas, NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert grills presidential also-rans John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani during “The Minds That Move the World” at Radio City Music Hall. Elsewhere in the media, TiVo announces first-quarter earnings, and Disney chief Bob Iger represents the House of Mouse at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. Check out the Webcast at Disney.com/investors at 10.
Thursday, May 29
The Hollywood Radio & Television Society (HRTS) holds its always-lively Newsmaker Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The panel explores “ways to engage Hollywood to keep health care and financial security at the top of the domestic agenda,” and includes ER writer/producer John Wells, Law & Order: SVU executive producer Dr. Neal Baer, and former Studio 60 star D.L. Hughley. Talk host Leeza Gibbons moderates. Speaking of lively lunches, the AWRT gang samples a little hair of the dog after last night’s festivities with the Gracies Luncheon at Tavern on the Green. Meanwhile, across the country, Women in Cable Telecommunications tees up for its NorCal golf tournament at Canyon Lakes Country Club in San Ramon, Calif.
Friday, May 30
The 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee is set to wrap in our nation’s capital, as 288 of America’s finest young spellers do battle. ESPN has the semifinals from the Grand Hyatt at 11 a.m., and ABC takes over for the finals at 8. And it’s time to dust off those Blahniks, mix those Manhattans and crank up that peppy samba score, as the Writer, the Coquette, the WASP and the…well, that red-haired one, played by Cynthia Nixon, reassemble for the greatest reunion since New Kids on the Block got back together. Yes, the Sex and the City movie premieres. See it with someone you love but can’t quite seem to get to love you back.
