The Business Journal had the opportunity to speak with broadcasting legend Larry King on Nov. 18, the eve of his 78th birthday. As follows are excerpts from the conversation.
It”™s been one year since you broadcast the last “Larry King Live.” In retrospect, was it the right time to step away from the booth?
King: “I”™m mixed. I love being around big events and so for that part, it was definitely negative leaving. Positively though, there were a lot of shows I wouldn”™t have liked to do ”“ there was the Dr. (Conrad) Murray case and the Casey Anthony case. Also, I”™m spending more time with the boys. So it”™s a mixed emotion thing.”
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What are some of your current projects?
“We”™ve got something coming ”“ I can”™t announce it yet. It should be hopefully announced in the next two, three weeks that we”™ll be doing something.
“Right now, I”™m doing comedy and I”™m doing a lot of speaking ”“ and in some strange places. I”™ve always done speeches, conventions and the like, but now I”™m going to Moscow and Kazakhstan”¦I was in Slovakia”¦Portugal”¦South Korea”¦and in Mexico City.
“So I”™ve been traveling a lot. I”™m going to Kiev next week to speak at a prime ministers”™ conference. A lot of these things I couldn”™t do when I was full-time at CNN ”“ I couldn”™t take that much time away and if it was government-involved they didn”™t let me do it ”“ but now that I”™m only doing four specials a year, I”™m free to do other things.”
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The media engine has been turned upside-down by the rise of Twitter and social media. Have the changes been good for the industry and for consumers?
“I have mixed feelings on it. Obviously the positive is the speed information travels at. Twitter can start a revolution as we”™ve learned. As for minuses, a lot of wrong information goes out. ”¦One of the disadvantages of the 24-hour news is the desire to convict before the trial is over ”“ to speculate. I grew up with the (Edward R.) Murrows and the (Walter) Cronkites where there was no speculation.
(Following a recent conversation with Twitter founder Jack Reynolds.) “It was remarkable to hear him talk about how Twitter came about and how it”™s worth so much without making a dollar. It was fascinating. Twitter is just starting to make money but it”™s valued at billions. All that is amazing ”“ I”™m just a typewriter guy.
“So I”™m caught in a trap because some things I”™m doing involve technology. Obviously the Internet is a major factor in life and yet I”™m thrown back into the golden days. I”™m 78 years old (on Nov. 19) and I”™m hooked between two worlds.”
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Business confidence and confidence in our political institutions are both suffering, but are they collectively any worse than during past recessions and recoveries?
“I think that every time had their cases like this and they just didn”™t communicate them as fast. My god ”“ during the depression years we had double the unemployment we have now. We”™ve always had fraud, we”™ve always had thieves and we”™ve always had down economies and up economies.
“A guy came up to me at a restaurant this morning and said, ”˜What do you think of the debt ceiling?”™ I looked up and said ”˜I think they ought to paint it.”™ I don”™t know how much we understand it.
“And now that the world is so close together ”¦ I can”™t get a handle on it. I try to stay on top of it; I try to read every day. I still don”™t know what happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I know the heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ”“ I interviewed them. And I don”™t know what happened. I talk to this guy, Congressman Frank ”“ he says one thing ”“ and then I hear this other guy from Connecticut ”“ he says another thing ”“ and another guy from South Carolina has this to say. The news turns into a bam-bam game.”
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