Bill Tush

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Bill Tush discusses his early interest in broadcasting which led to him becoming a disc jockey in Pittsburgh. He recounts his early years at WTCG, Ted Turner's then-local station in Atlanta, and describes his various announcing and production duties. He discusses anchoring a newscast at 3am to fulfill FCC requirements, which evolved into a parody news program - a forerunner of both Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" and The Daily Show. He outlines Ted Turner becoming a cable powerhouse by turning WTCG (later TBS) into a "Superstation" and creating CNN. He recalls his short-lived comedy show Tush, which launched the careers of Jan Hooks and Terry and Bonnie Turner, and speaks of his unsuccessful attempt at creating a sitcom for TBS. Tush details becoming a reporter for CNN, and later becoming an anchor and correspondent for Showbiz Today. He talks about his many years of covering entertainment and interviewing celebrities, and discusses how 9/11 led to the end of his career at CNN. Karen Herman conducted the interview on June 14, 2010 in New York, NY.