Roger & Me

I am no athlete, but at one sport I used to be an expert. It was a dangerous game called "jumping to conclusions." -- Eddie Cantor

In 1990 I wrote and produced It's The Weekend!, an award winning sketch comedy show. I helped promote the show by mailing VHS copies (this was the olden days) to everyone listed in The Hollywood Creative Directory with an office in New York. The response was very positive and one of the recipients who replied to me was Roger Ailes, who at that time was running a cable channel called America's Talking.

Mr. Ailes offered me some very helpful advice and was also kind enough to introduce me to a programming executive at ABC-TV and that connection ultimately resulted in a new show. The help I received from Roger Ailes is a rarity in any business and was an enormous career boost for me, and as a result I have always tried to mentor and assist others whenever I can.

Soledad O'Brien attempted to condemn Ailes by quoting him out of context on CNN but she was corrected by her colleagues. I don't agree with many of Roger Ailes's beliefs (although I no longer support Obama) but I think it's wrong to judge people solely on their opinions without knowing anything else about them.

I have written more than 40 pieces on The Huffington Post and I have also been published on FoxNews.com and as a freelance journalist I have no specific alliance. Liberals are supposed to represent tolerance and open-mindedness, so let's not judge Roger Ailes unfairly.