Who: Josh Levin, Mike Pesca and Stefan Fatsis, with guest- Nate Silver What: Slate’s Hang Up and Listen, Live! Where: City Winery When: January 17, 2012 Thumbs: Up “I don’t want it to sound like a tautology” isn’t the kind of concern audibly shared at most sports panels, but while explaining how bad defenses play [...]

Not a single member of The New Yorker‘s esteemed panel was willing to argue in favor of the proclamation that television has surpassed – or would surpass – the prestige and prowess of Hollywood cinema. However, some were more willing than others to argue that TV shows have come a long way in proving that they, too, can be taking seriously as an artform.

Seth Rogen may have been the bigger name of the two men interviewed on the stage, but Will Reiser was the one with the story to tell. Moderator Dave Itzkoff made the right call by beginning the discussion about last year’s “cancer comedy” 50/50 with Reiser, who documents parts of his own cancer experience in the screenplay he drafted for the film. Reiser insisted, however, that while themes, situations, and some relationships were lifted from real life for his script, most of the film’s events are not part of his recovery story.

Kristen Wiig and Paul Feig say they’ve been surprised at how last year’s comedy hit Bridesmaids has been received by some critics. They are pleased by the overall reception of their film, but wonder why so many people wrongly called it a “female comedy,” when it’s “a comedy with women in it,” as Wiig characterized it. No matter, the film, which is now getting some Oscar buzz, may have paved the way for similar projects to get greenlit in the future.

When asked to pick his favorite means of artistic expression, David Cross selected stand-up comedy. As opposed to other comedy, he said that stand-up comedy was his own true voice without his ideas having to be filtered through anything. That’s what the assembled crowd was privy to in his talk with New York Times reporter (and, clearly, big fan) Dave Itzkoff. Cross, while taking the audience on a tour of his career, was affable and hilarious, answering each question with a joke before actually addressing it.

Over the course of 2011, we covered an array of politicians, authors, entertainers, media mavens, and others as they discussed their crafts and their industries. (Here’s last year’s list.) We enjoyed most of the panels, lectures, and debates we took in, while some of them fell short. Here, a rundown of our 5 favorites, followed by the 10 quotes that defined the year in New York City media panels:

Who: Richard Just, Jodi Kantor, Ryan Lizza, moderated by Franklin Foer
What: “The Year of the Herminator: A Panel of Reporters Explain the Weirdest Republican Primary Ever”
Where: New America NYC
When: December 8, 2011
Thumbs: Way Up

Who: Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Marika Sawyer, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Bryan Tucker, Chris Kelly, moderated by Steve Gaydos
What: “Live from New York… A Discussion with the Saturday Night Live Writers”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: November 13, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Gilbert Gottfried, interviewed by Judy Gold
What: “Gilbert Gottfried with Judy Gold”
Where: 92 Y
When: November 7, 2011
Thumbs: Up, in a way that offends someone

Who: Kevin Clash, Constance Marks, and many, many others, interviewed by Ron Simon
What: “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: October 17, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Oliver Stone, Edward R. Pressman, interviewed by Thane Rosenbaum
What: Forum Film Festival’s “Wall Street”
Where: Fordham Law School
When: October 16, 2011
Thumbs: Down

Who: Nicholas Lemann, Stephen B. Shepard, moderated by Myron Kandel
What: “More than Money with Myron Kandel: The Business of Money”
Where: JCC of Manhattan
When: October 5, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Eric Stangel (Letterman), Justin Stangel (Letterman), A.D. Miles (Fallon), Steve Bodow (Daily Show), Barry Julien (Colbert), moderated by Jason Sudeikis (SNL)
What: The New York Television Festival’s “Long Day’s Journey into Late Night”
Where: 92 Y Tribeca
When: September 22, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: David Denby
What: “Do Movies Have a Future?”
Where: The New York Psychoanalytic Institute
When: September 13, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Joe Garden, John Krewson, Katie Palmer, Seth Reiss, Will Tracy, moderated by Anderson Cooper
What: “The Onion: Celebrating 1,000 Issues of Prize-Worthy Journalism”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: June 21, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Gay Talese, David Carr, Andrew Rossi, moderated by Bill Keller
What: “Page One: Inside The New York Times”
Where: Times Center
When: June 14, 2011
Thumbs: Way Up

What: “Meet the Filmmakers”
Where: Apple SoHo
When: March 1, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Who: Michael Lewis, interviewed by Ira Glass What: “Michael Lewis in Conversation with Ira Glass” Where: 92nd St. Y When: February 3, 2011 Thumbs: Up It’s a subject some of us choose not to discuss or think about anymore. Not because it makes us uncomfortable, but because it’s been exhausted over the past few years. [...]

A star-studded cast is starring in a revival of Jason Miller’s 1972 play That Championship Season on Broadway this spring. While the play is of a personal nature that the cast and crew hopes will resonate with a modern audience, it’s especially familiar for actor Jason Patric, who is both a star of the show and Miller’s son. Earlier this week, the star-studded ensemble discussed the play at the Times Center.

Who: Will Shortz What: Will Shortz at The New York Times‘ Arts & Leisure Weekend Where: Times Center When: January 9, 2011 Thumbs: Up “Every answer has to be a real word or phrase. You can’t just make stuff up,” Will Shortz said while outlining the five rules to making crossword puzzles. It’s not something [...]

Over the course of 2010, we covered an array of politicians, authors, entertainers, media mavens, and others as they discussed their crafts and their industries. We enjoyed most of the panels, lectures, and debates we took in, while some of them fell short. Here, a rundown of our 5 favorites, followed by the 10 quotes that defined the year in New York City media panels:

Who: Steve Martin, interviewed by Deborah Solomon
What: “Steve Martin with Deborah Solomon”
Where: 92nd St. Y
When: November 29, 2010
Thumbs: Down

Who: Laura Linney, Cynthia Nixon, Gabourey Sidibe, Phyllis Somerville, John Benjamin Hickey, Darlene Hunt, Jenny Bicks, Vivian Cannon, moderated by Anita Gates
What: “The Big C”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: November 1, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Toobin, Judy Gold, moderated by Andy Borowitz
What: “The Borowitz Report: Midterm Madness!”
Where: 92nd St. Y
When: October 20, 2010
Thumbs: Up

Who: Steve Carell, interviewed by Tad Friend
What: The New Yorker Festival’s “Steve Carell talks with Tad Friend (that’s what he said)”
Where: Acura at SIR Stage37
When: October 3, 2010
Thumbs: Up