AJR  The Beat
From AJR,   March 1999

Life Imitates Art   

From a newsroom drama on screen to the real-life drama of a newsroom.

By Lori Robertson
Lori Robertson (robertson.lori@gmail.com), a former AJR managing editor, is a senior contributing writer for the magazine.      


Linda Kelsey, who played girl reporter Billie Newman on the classic CBS newsroom drama "Lou Grant," applies her journalistic know-how from the show to real life. The actress is now an arts and entertainment contributor to WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. Kelsey, a Minnesota native, pitched the idea herself. "I was inspired by CBS [News'] 'Sunday Morning,' with Charles Osgood," she says. "I've always been moved by the arts stories. When I moved here, I thought there's so much going on here, there ought to be a similar show." Her local arts segments air during the 10 a.m. Sunday news hour. Kelsey doesn't feel a connection between her "Lou Grant" days and real reporting. "This is something that Linda Kelsey's doing, and Billie isn't part of it," she says.

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