Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 2

LA Fire Relief: How To Help

Los Angeles has become a second home to me over nearly two decades working in and around the entertainment industry, and it’s the actual home of many close friends of mine. So, like many of you, I’ve watched the news of this month’s unprecedented wildfires with particular dread.

As you’ve probably read, entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and more than 100,000 Angelenos have been ordered to evacuate. Millions more wait anxiously as flames churn through the dry brush. The entertainment industr...

Music's Winners & Losers Of 2024

When I landed in Ft. Lauderdale on a random weekend in October, it quickly dawned on me that something unusual was happening. There were no cars left at the airport rental counter, despite the fact that I’d made a reservation weeks earlier. Flights had been double their usual price. And the hotel I stayed at was flooded with tween girls in sparkly costumes.

That last part finally clicked everything into place for me. The scarcity, the prices, and the crowds weren’t the result of a pending hurrica...

The Zogblog Holiday Sale

Black Friday may be over, but for those seeking the perfect holiday gift, there are still plenty of deals left. Among them: a full-year subscription to the Zogblog for 30% off, if you act quickly.

The holiday special gets you (or your lucky gift subscription recipient) access to all Zogblog posts, roughly half of which are for subscribers only. This includes excerpts from my books and new series like One of Ones, my collaboration with Trapital’s Dan Runcie.

Get 30% off for 1 year

You’ll also cont...

Jay-Z's NFL Endgame

In 2019, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation signed a five-year deal worth a reported $25 million to produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show for the NFL. In October, the two sides agreed to extend the pact for another five years. And while the precise financial details haven’t emerged, the arrangement is clearly about a lot more than money.

Last week, I joined my pal Dan Runcie to discuss the ramifications on the latest episode of his Trapital podcast. As usual, I’ll give my Zogblog readers some additional perspecti...

Michael Jackson's Lifetime Earnings

Around the globe tonight, Michael Jackson’s tunes remind us Halloween is in full swing. And whether it’s his uncredited vocals on “Somebody’s Watching Me” or his dancing emulated by a “Thriller” flash mob, the spooky holiday shows how Jackson’s legacy endures, now 15 years after his death.

Halloween also feels like an apt moment to reflect on just how big the business of Jackson still is—and was, during his life. From his best-known moves (buying the Beatles’ publishing catalog) to his more under...

My Two-Year-Old's First Baseball Game

About a month ago at Yankee Stadium, I heard the strains of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” from a new perch: the family restroom.

It was the last regular season game of the year, and my two-year-old daughter Riley had made it cheerfully through the eighth inning before a matter-of-fact announcement: “I pooped.” As my wife and I steered Riley back into the concourse, she grinned gleefully. “Theeeeee Yankees wim!”—her interpretation of announcer John Sterling’s iconic victory call.

For those ...

One Of Ones: Lessons From Clive Davis

Over the better part of a century in the music business, Clive Davis has signed some of the greatest artists of all time, from Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston. It’s earned him the reputation as “the man with the golden ears.”

The primary key to his success hasn’t necessarily been those ears, but what’s between them. And fostering the reputation of having an otherworldly knack for discovering artists, despite no formal music training of his own, has paid incredible dividends.

“People are saying I h...

The Super Bowl Of Reconciliation

Earlier this week, Kendrick Lamar was revealed as the halftime headliner at the upcoming Super Bowl in New Orleans. The news followed Lamar’s largely undisputed victory in a ferocious back-and-forth lyrical battle with Drake. Though some observers had hoped to see hometown hero Lil Wayne onstage at the big game, many lauded the pick—including, unsurprisingly, the person likely most responsible for making it.

“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” said Jay-Z, whose ...

One Of Ones: Lessons From Oprah

I’ve never interviewed Oprah Winfrey, but I did spend the better part of a decade counting her money. As the media & entertainment editor at Forbes, I oversaw our annual Celebrity 100 issue, which measured the annual earnings of the world’s top entertainers. And Winfrey topped the list so many times that her success almost ceased to be news.

I remember the collective sigh of relief in the office when Winfrey decided to wind down her eponymous talk show and focus on her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)...

Dan Greenburg: A Gutsy Softball Player, An Even Better Dad

This piece also appears in the program for the 76th Annual Artists & Writers Game, which takes place today at Herrick Park in East Hampton.

My father, Dan Greenburg, made a career writing about things that absolutely terrified him. For publications ranging from the New Yorker to Playboy, he chronicled his adventures following firefighters into burning buildings in New York, joining voodoo ceremonies in Haiti, and even participating in orgies, wherever they have orgies. Perhaps most terrifying of ...