SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
(Gainesville Sun - Jan. 17, 1976) The University of Florida used to have an Applied Journalism program in which seniors in the journalism program would report to the local paper, The Gainesville Sun, and work as instant interns in various departments, under the direction of UF journalism teachers. One day that fall, Diane Chun of the features department graciously accepted my pitch to write a review of a brand-new TV show aimed at college kids, since I was a college kid and Gainesville was a college town. The review of the fall 1975 premiere never ran in the paper - but shortly thereafter, I was asked to update the review by also discussing the handful of other episodes that had aired, and this is the result. When it ran, the Sun's editor, Ed Johnson, called me into his office and asked me to do more TV reviews, at $5 a pop. By the time I got my Masters, I had two years as a TV critic under my belt, and enough clips to land a full-time job in the capacity. A third of a century later, Saturday Night Live is still going strong. Must have been my positive review.