Roger Smith

Roger Smith has been an entertainment industry executive in a wide variety of capacities and a writer/commentator on the media industry. He is extremely proud to have successfully maintained his amateur status in both roles. He is the co-founder and New York Editor for Global Media Intelligence, a research service that follows all aspects of media for both industry and Wall Street clients.

In 1999, Smith became Variety’s first outside columnist, creating the “It’s Only Money” column for them, which for two years covered the financial aspects of the entertainment industry and appeared twice a month in both Weekly and Daily Variety, and on variety.com. Since then, he has written regularly on the entertainment industry for Film Comment and in The New York Observer. During the mid-1970's, Smith authored numerous articles on finance, which appeared in Playboy magazine under the pseudonym “John B. Tipton.” Smith also appears regularly on CNBC’s Squawk Box as a commentator on events in the media business.

Roger’s long-time interest in domestic politics had become somewhat dormant until reawakened by the ascension of George W. Bush. Since then, he has tried to maintain his sanity by exchanging views with mostly like-minded souls. (His former friends on the Right have, by and large, used their spam blockers to avoid reading his emails.)

Roger acquired his unshakable belief in his rectitude, along with a B.A., during four years at Harvard, more years ago than he cares to mention.