358: How to Break Into Comedy Writing w/ Mo Rocca, CBS Sunday Morning [Espresso Shots]

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Mo Rocca is a humorist, journalist and an actor. He is currently a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, as well as the host for CBS’s series The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation. In January of 2019, Mo’s podcast Mobituaries debuted as a joint venture between CBS News and Simon and Schuster. Mo’s love of obituaries and history led him to launch the project, a deeply researched appreciation for the love of people (and things) of the past who have long intrigued him. Each of the first season’s episodes is richly produced, consisting of Mo’s narrated storytelling combined with his original interviews (e.g. President Bill Clinton, whose inauguration pushed Audrey Hepburn’s obit off the front page) and some never-before-heard voices from the past, courtesy of the CBS News archives. The Mobituaries book was published in November 2019, to coincide with the start of the second season, and offers new, original stories combined with expanded “Mobits” from the podcast. Mo is a rotating panelist on NPR’s hugely popular game show:  Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! Press play on this entertaining and super informative Espresso Shots episode to learn more about how to break into this niche industry!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• How to break into this industry
• What are the most important skills you need to hone
• What you should study in school and why 
• How to feed your soul and nourish your creative side even while working a job that may be more of a grind but pays the bills
• How being a comedy writer on a show like The Daily Show is super stressful and what it takes to succeed
• What commedienns and journalists actually share in common (you may be surprised)
• Why you should read Janet Malcolm’s book:  The Journalist And The Murderer to get a window into this world 
• Why to listen to Mo’s main Time4Coffee interview episode #304 to learn more about what it’s like to be a humorist and a journalist