Barry Nolan
Barry Nolan (born June 17, 1947) is an American former presenter on Comcast Cable's CN8 channel, once hosting the shows Nitebeat and Backstage, and Backstage with Barry Nolan. He is a regular panelist on Says You!, a weekend radio word quiz show carried on many public radio stations but produced by Pipit and Finch.
Background and personal life
Nolan is from Alexandria, Virginia and went to college at the University of Tennessee. Nolan married Deborah Reed in 1981 and had three children: Christian, Delaney, and Alexander. He and Reed separated 1991 and divorced in 2002. He married Garland Waller in 2004 and now lives in Newton, Mass.
He was once a social worker and is a member of Mensa.[1]
Career
Nolan hosted Boston's version of Evening Magazine for WBZ-TV (Channel 4). He was also the host of Hard Copy from 1990 to 1998. Nolan later became a journalist for Extra!.
Barry Nolan was fired by CN8 on 20 May 2008 for distributing fliers at an Emmy award show dinner on 10 May. Nolan was protesting the award of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Governors' Award to political commentator Bill O'Reilly, and distributed a self-prepared flier with quotes from O'Reilly's shows, and with quotes from a sexual harassment lawsuit against O'Reilly.[2][3] Soon afterwards, O'Reilly wrote to Comcast's CEO mentioning the mutual business interests between Comcast and Fox, and saying "...it was puzzling to see a Comcast employee, Barry Nolan, use Comcast corporate assets to attack me and FNC."[4] He said that Nolan had attended the Emmy Awards "in conjunction with Comcast," and declared it "a disturbing situation."[4] This led to "memos ... flying from one jittery Comcast executive to another".[4] Nolan subsequently sued Comcast for wrongful termination, and lost. Terry Ann Knopf, Columbia Journalism Review, 16 August 2010, The O’Reilly Factor: How the Fox host used raw corporate power to crush a critic</ref> In response to a question raised as part of that suit, Comcast wrote that "… Mr. Nolan’s protest at the NATAS Award Ceremony and of William O’Reilly as the recipient of the Governor’s Award jeopardized and harmed the business and economic interests of Comcast in connection with its contract with Fox News Channel, and its contract negotiations with Fox News that were ongoing at the time."[4]
After his firing, Nolan "landed a communications job with the Joint Economic Committee of Congress".[4] It's a stranger job, given that Nolan has no expertise in economics, a subject as difficult as modern physics.
References
- ^ "Prominent Mensans". Mensa International. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
- ^ "TV Host Fired For Criticizing Bill O'Reilly". Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ "Barry Nolan: The Story Behind My O'Reilly Protest".
- ^ a b c d e Terry Ann Knopf, Columbia Journalism Review, 16 August 2010, The O’Reilly Factor: How the Fox host used raw corporate power to crush a critic
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