r • c C) 11 Newshound With beats including Detroit's schools and the Arab American community, Noah Ovshinsky reports for public radio. Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News N oah Ovshinsky likes to corn- municate about issues to large numbers of people, but he prefers to do it on a personal level. To that end, he's building a career in radio. Ovshinsky, 28, recently joined the reporting team of WDET-FM (101.9), Detroit's public radio station, and produc- es two or three 50-second segments per day. He came to the station after produc- ing morning news segments in Chicago and specialized videos for HKO Media, a firm developed by his father, Harvey Ovshinsky. "I cover a variety of beats, but news related to the Detroit Public Schools is of particular interest," says the son, whose own schooling brought him through Grosse Pointe schools and Kalamazoo College. "It's been a very interesting year on the schools beat in terms of the teacher contract negotiations and the strike. It was very interesting talking to teachers and learning about their problems with the district and talking to representatives of the district about their needs. It was a very complex situation with no easy answers:" Ovshinsky, who had his religious train- ing at the Jewish Parents Institute, regular- ly reports on events in the Arab American community, where the issues also are complex. In a different direction, he has covered arts and culture news. "Radio is a very intimate form of com- munication because people often listen to us in their cars, and there's generally nobody in the car but the driver and our voices," Ovshinsky explains. "That's much more intimate than sitting in a liv- ing room watching television with things going on in the home." Ovshinsky traces his interest in broad- casting to his own home; his dad built a career in local radio and television before forming his pro- duction company and becoming a teacher of screen- writing and docu- mentary filmmak- Noah Ovshinsky: ing at Wayne State "I always knew I University and wanted to work in other venues. public radio." Although the younger Ovshins knew he wanted a broadcasting career, he did not major in journalism. "I happen to believe that the best kinds of journalists, especially in public radio, are those with liberal arts degrees and a wide knowledge of things that are going on," he says. "I got a liberal arts degree with a major in political science. "My first real job in broadcasting was with Chicago's WGN radio, which has a huge listening audience. I started as an intern and then got hired as a weekend morning news producer. Then, I got hired as a news producer for weekday mornings, putting together newscasts for the anchor." Ovshinsky chose to start his career in Chicago because his family is well known in Michigan, and he wanted to fend for himself for a time. The reporter's grandfa- ther is Stanford Ovshinsky, a well-known energy scientist, award-winning inven- tor and founder of a firm that developed amorphous semiconductor materials used in many applications in the field of mate- rial engineering. "I was very fortunate to have some very good mentors in Chicago," the reporter says. "I learned a lot getting into the stu- dio at 3:30 in the morning." Ovshinsky believes he also was pre- ews omav Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News Good Luck, Jonathan Jonathan Silverman, 40, co-stars in the new ABC series In Case of Emergency, about a group of high- school buddies who meet up 20 years later. David Arquette, 36, whose 4 late mother was Jewish, co-stars. The show debuts Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 9:30 p.m. Jonathan Silverman grew Silverman up in Beverly Hills and is the grandson of Rabbi Morris Silverman, a leading light of Conservative Judaism. Jonathan's film career began in 1986 with a starring role in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. He played Eugene, a character based on Simon as a teenager. Silverman was competent in the role but didn't bring the infectious energy Matthew Broderick — whose late mother was Jewish — exhibited as Eugene in the original stage version of Brighton Beach and in the film version of Biloxi Blues, a sequel to Brighton. Silverman went on to appear in a ton of so-so film comedies and a cou- ple of short-lived TV shows. His only real hit since Brighton Beach has been 1989's Weekend at Bernie's, a black film comedy. Maybe his new series will be good, but so far Silverman hasn't lucked into a great role (unlike his boyhood friend David Schwimmer of Cheers), and he just doesn't have the star power to overcome a lackluster script. Film Notes Alan Abrams, who penned many articles in his career for the Detroit Jewish News, is the author of a new book, Waking the Dreamgirls: The Complete Motown Press Releases, 1964-1966, to be published this month by U.K. publisher Bank House Books. It will be available in the States in late January at a cost of $30 (www.bankhousebooks.com ). Abrams bills himself as "Motown's founding publicist and first employee." The book is tied in to the recent film release of Dreamgirls, the musi- cal about a group clearly modeled after the famous Supremes singing group. Mary Wilson, one of the origi- nal Supremes, wrote the forward for Abrams' book, which includes a wealth of information about Motown artists, both in the old press releases and in extra material Abrams has added to give con- text to the releases. Actress Natasha Natasha Lyonne (American Lyonne Pie) appears to be much healthier than a year ago when she was reported to be near death from hepatitis and a heart infection (published reports said drug use was a factor). Not long before she Adam Pascal became ill, Lyonne was arrested for harassing a neighbor. On Dec.15, Lyonne, 27, appeared GROUPER •GROUPER GROUPER! Tasty, White, Flaky and Healthy Grouper Prepared 5 Ways. Grouper in parchment, Grouper Piccatta, Grouper Siciliano, Grouper Veracruise, Grouper Combo 621 S. Opdyke Rd. Auburn Hills, MI 48326 248-332-7744 40 December 28 o 2006 "I love going to dinner at the Crabhouse. Everyone knows my name and just how I like my meal prepared. 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