`Live' with Regis,
Kathie Lee and CLAUDIA
ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
C
laudia Cohen, entertainment re-
porter for "Live with Regis and
Kathie Lee," has just finished re-
vealing the latest celebrity gos-
sip on live TV. Now it's time for Cohen to
talk about herself "It's always strange be-
ing interviewed," she laughs. "I am much
more comfortable asking the questions."
Just about a year ago Cohen began dat-
ing New York's Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, and
when word of the romance got out, she was
besieged by the press. "I much prefer be-
ing on the other side," she said.
And for nearly two decades, she has
been. A native of New Jersey, Cohen grew
up in the world of news. Her parents
owned the Hudson News Co., a magazine
distributing business.
Aspiring to a career as a journalist since
the age of 13, Cohen followed her dream.
Majoring in political science at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, she was the man-
aging editor of the school's newspaper, The
Daily Pennsylvanian.
Immediately out of college, she landed
a job at the now-defunct journalism revue
MORE, which seriously critiqued the na-
tion's press.
After three years, she decided to try
more mainstream journalism, and ac-
cepted a job at the New York Post as a re-
porter. "I wrote about a hodgepodge of
things = everything from show business
to politics to Madison Avenue," she said.
Her next writing job took her to the New
York Daily News, where she wrote a col-
umn called "I, Claudia."
It was at that point in her career that
Cohen decided to switch to broadcast jour-
nalism.
"I did the Eyewitness News locally in
New York City, and when 'Live' started as
a local show, the producers asked me to be
the entertainment reporter," said Cohen,
who has been referred to as "the insider's
insider."
Cohen admits she enjoys mingling with
all the "bold-faced" names in the news-
papers. "I get to meet the greatest per-
sonalities of our time, even if it's in the
most unrealistic of settings," she said. Co-
hen always has the support of "Live's"
hosts, Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gif-
ford. 'They are such pros," she said. 'They
are very supportive, and I consider them
among my closest friends."
THE DETRO IT JEWIS H NEWS
Claudia Cohen: The "insider's insider."
84
The feeling is mutual, and both Philbin
and Gifford sing Cohen's praises. "Clau-
dia is a person who has always been on the
cutting edge, but in reality, she is a deeply
old-fashioned woman," Kathie Lee Gifford
said. "She is crazy about her mom and dad
and is an amazing mother to her daugh-
ter. She would be one of the first people I'd
call in a crisis."
Without a doubt, Cohen said, family is
her first consideration. As demanding as
her work can be, she works around her
5-year-old daughter Samantha's schedule.
"I consider my-
Claudia Cohen is always
in the know on "Live With
self a full-time
Regis & Kathie Lee."
mother with a
part-time job,"
said Cohen, who is divorced from Saman-
tha's father, Revlon's CEO Ron Perelman.
From the mail she receives from fans,
it's obvious that viewers like Cohen's en-
tertainment segment on "Live". But a re-
cent on-air report about Michael Jackson
generated more controversy than any piece
she has ever done.
"I mentioned that many people view
Michael Jackson's CD and music video
HIStory as anti-Semitic. I personally
thought so, with the 'Jew me, sue me' lyrics
and the word kike' in the songs. I found it
hard to believe that no one at Sony raised
a single objection. It was much more im-
portant to them to ingratiate themselves
with the star and not rock the boat, and I
reported this.
"I got so many letters pro and con. Some
people criticized me for criticizing him, and
others were appalled with what he did and
attacked me for giving Michael Jackson 411
publicity. I didn't get any letters suggest-