Writing Comedy for Late-Night TV – Joe Toplyn

04/18/21 • 26 min

Paid by the Word: Conversations with Writers and Editors

Joe Toplyn began his television career on the writing staff of Late Night with David Letterman . He later served as co-head writer of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, head writer of Late Show with David Letterman, and co-executive producer of the comedic detective show Monk.

A four-time Emmy winner, Joe is the author of Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV: How to Write Monologue Jokes, Desk Pieces, Sketches, Parodies, Audience Pieces, Remotes and Other Short-Form Comedy.
I have found Joe’s book to be an extremely useful guide for multiple genres of writing. The book’s all-around utility never fails to challenge and amaze me. Joe also offers writing tips and advice on his website, www.joetoplyn.comIn our conversation, Joe shares several of the techniques he uses to tighten his prose, sharpen his jokes and consistently deliver world-class humor. Give us a listen, and enjoy!

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Unpeeling the Beauty Industry – Martha Laham

Martha Laham is a college professor, writer, and author. She has taught business, marketing, management, and advertising at universities and colleges for more than 30 years. In addition to teaching, Martha has authored college textbooks in marketing and selling, developed instructional materials for educational publishers, and contributed to HuffPost.
Prior to going into the education field, Martha worked in the media, advertising, and promotion industries. She is the author of Made Up: How the Beauty Industry Manipulates Consumers, Preys on Women’s Insecurities, and Promotes Unattainable Beauty Standards and The Con Game: A Failure of Trust .

In this episode, Martha talks about Made Up, and explains how the beauty industry uses its monolithic power to influence our behaviors and our beliefs.

Next Episode

An Editor’s Journey From Newsroom to Academia – Walter Middlebrook

Walter Middlebrook is the Foster Professor of Practice in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University. Middlebrook has worked in editing roles at the Minneapolis Star, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, Newsday, New York Newsday, The New York Times, USA Today and The Detroit News.

At The Detroit News, he supervised an award-winning investigations team, while producing weekly entertainment and opinion stand-alone sections. Before that, he managed the newspaper’s award-winning department that included the metro desk, state house, and Washington, D.C., bureaus.

Middlebrook has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He also has earned a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University and the Spirit of Diversity Award from Wayne State University.

He is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and an Eagle Scout. I am delighted to have Walter Middlebrook as a guest on this episode of the podcast, and I am sure that you will enjoy listening to the story of his career as a journalist.