Randall Pinkston 'Naked' – Well, Kinda
Video: On May 24, correspondent Randall Pinkston appeared at New York City's Symphony Space as part of an event co-sponsored by storytelling organization The Moth. The event, called "Extra, Extra: Stories about the News," also featured Former CBS News producer Bernie Birnbaum, musician Moby, and others. In his fifteen minute story, Pinkston described some of his adventures in journalism, including the time he uttered a certain word on live television that…well, you'll just have to watch.
"Last time I did something like this I was in a high school play," says Pinkston. "You have no props, no paper, just you, naked, onstage with the microphone. It was a little intimidating."
Pinkston expected to just stand up and tell a story when he agreed to appear, but it turned out to be much more involved than that. "First, The Moth's artistic director had me tell the story on the phone. We changed the flow. There was a rehearsal where there was more critiquing and suggested changes. It was a highly produced experience. It was akin to doing a news story for CBS News because of high involvement of production values."
That doesn't mean he embellished, however. "The story is 100 percent true," he says.
If you click on the video box you can watch Pinkston's performance, which was co-presented by The Moth and Selected Shorts at Symphony Space (this clip runs just over 16 minutes).