FBLA guest blogger Dan Cox mined the cavernous troll-infested passages of TCA this morning, and files this bit of sparkly goodness:

Newly named NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman looked particularly coiffed in that “I don’t give a shit” disheveled kind of way as he was faced for the first time with about 100 teeth-gnashing journos at a Critics Association breakfast with NBC co-chair Mark Graboff at the Los Angeles Hilton this morning.

Silverman, for better or worse, held his own.

“He knows that he’s in show business,” says J. Max Robins, editor in chief of Broadcast and Cable, who watched the fracas unfold.

Still, we detected the slightest scent of fear on Silverman. In his
unbuttoned white shirt, dark jacket and loafers, the smiling former William Morris agent was quick to field numerous questions about NBC’s sagging second-place sked, the potential of new stars, the conflict over whether he’ll divest his interest in production company Reveille Entertainment (he won’t) and his and Graboff’s controversial displacement of former chair Kevin Reilly last month.

“I have immense power,” Silverman boasted. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do. I always knew the place where I would have the greatest opportunity would be a network. I’ve wanted to do this since I was a young person.”

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E! Online has launched a few new columns meant to appeal to men — you’ve heard of men, right? Those creatures with pendulous parts that wouldn’t be caught dead reading a celeb site?

Well, those clever E! folk may just have found their man-bait: Ben Lyons, son of Jeffrey, grandson of Leonard, has joined on as the company’s “resident film expert.”

His speech is peppered with shouts of allegiance to the Knicks and street lingo of his own invention, but he is one of the most affable interviewers we’ve ever seen. He’s got the kind of charm that makes you wish you could hang out with him. Maybe go clubbing. Introduce him to your sister.

Here’s what Ben has to say about being Ben:

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