• by Lydia Loizides , Op-Ed Contributor, March 20, 2008

So, I have spent the last couple of weeks talking with people on the Left Coast, and I have discovered something very interesting: evidently New York doesn't matter to the TV and film world. OK, maybe not quite that it doesn't matter -- but it is small beans. The perception is that no one of prominence or importance is in New York, that somehow, there just isn't enough business here. There also seems to be this perception the film and television business must be done from the City of Angeles, like there is no such thing as the telephone and/or cell phone, the Internet and/or email, and those massive transporters called airplanes. So, in the spirit of refreshing everyone's memory on the importance of New York to the entertainment industry, I present to for you my official Why New York Isn't Some Barren Entertainment Wasteland:

1. On film in New York: According to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, New York City attracted over 250 independent and studio films in 2005, an increase from 202 in 2004 and 180 in 2003. More than a third of professional actors in the United States are based in New York. The city's movie industry employs 100,000 New Yorkers, according to the Office, and about $5 billion is brought by the industry to the city's economy every year.International film makers work in the city, as well. (Source: Wikipedia)

2. The only reason the film industry moved from New York -- formerly the epicenter of the industry -- was because of the weather. With global warming, I suspect there's a chance things might change.

3. New York is the home of the major American television networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

4. New York is the headquarters of several large cable television channels, including MTV, Fox News, HBO and Comedy Central. Silvercup Studios was the production facility for the popular television shows "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos." MTV broadcasts programming from its sound stage overlooking Times Square. "Saturday Night Live" is broadcast from NBC's studios at Rockefeller Center, where "The TodayShow" is also taped. BET is headquartered on 57th Street. "The Colbert Report" is produced by Comedy Central on 54th Street, and "The Daily Show," also produced by Comedy Central, is taped just a few blocks over on 11th Avenue and 53rd Street. Over a thousand people are involved with producing the various "Law & Order" television series. In 2005 there were more than 100 new and returning television shows taped in New York City, according to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. (Source: Wikipedia)

5. Famous shows shot in New York:

30 Rock (2006-present)

All My Children (1970-present)

Another World (1964-1999)

As the World Turns (1956-present)

The Black Donnellys (2006-2007)

Car 54, Where are You? (1961-1963)

The Colbert Report

Conviction (2006)

Cosby (1996-2000)

The Cosby Mysteries (1994-1995)

The Cosby Show (1984-1992)

The Daily Show

The Equalizer (1985-1989)

Guiding Light (1952-present)

The Job (2001-2002)

The Jury (2004)

Kate and Allie (1984-1989)

The Late Show with David Letterman

Law & Order (1990-present)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001-present)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present)

Law & Order: Trial By Jury (2005)

Love Monkey (2006)

Naked City (1958-1963)

New York Undercover (1994-1998)

One Life to Live (1968-present)

Rescue Me (2004-present)

Saturday Night Live

Sesame Street (1969-present)

Sex and the City (1998-2004)

Spin City (1996-2002) - After season four filming in Los Angeles

The Tonight Show (1954-1972) - Subsequently moved to Los Angles

Third Watch (1999-2005)

(Source: Wikipedia)

6. Wall Street is in New York.

7. Madison Avenue is in New York.

8. Broadway is in New York. So is Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway, for that matter.

9. Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Julliard, The Met -- all in New York.

10. Frank Sinatra starting spreading the news because he was leaving for, you guessed it, New York.

And the list goes on and on and on. The point I am trying to make, in case you haven't figured it is out. is this: in the 21^st Century, besides physical space, geography shouldn't matter. The entertainment industry is a vibrant, cross-national industry that should be tapping into every possible and conceivable crevasse. Games companies are everywhere; writers and artists are everywhere; music is everywhere; production companies are everywhere; creatives are everywhere; digital developers are everywhere; and, most importantly, audiences are everywhere. So, in case you I haven't made it abundantly clear, I (heart) New York.