Author Archive

Why So Young, Network TV?

May 8, 2010
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Why So Young, Network TV?

Tonight, when Betty White hosts Saturday Night Live, American network television will be stepping outside of its comfort zone, by featuring someone a whole 5.5 times as old as Justin Bieber.
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Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, TV | 7 Comments »

The Right to Make Wrong TV?

April 26, 2010
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The Right to Make Wrong TV?

Later this year, the RightNetwork, a network dedicated to programming solely for conservatives, will launch. I’m intrigued by this network for a few reasons.
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Posted in Current Events, Industry, Perspectives, Politics, Politics, TV, TV | 15 Comments »

In Defense of Curling

March 1, 2010
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In Defense of Curling

It’s not a sport drowning in testosterone, but that’s its charm
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Posted in Perspectives, TV | 3 Comments »

Vancouver’s (finally) Ready for its Close-up, Mr. DeMille

February 21, 2010
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Vancouver’s (finally) Ready for its Close-up, Mr. DeMille

After years of starring in more films and television than any city other than Los Angeles or New York, with the Olympics, Vancouver finally gets to play itself on television.
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Posted in Film, Perspectives, TV | 12 Comments »

What Do You Think? The Oscar Nominees

February 3, 2010
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What Do You Think? The Oscar Nominees

Now that you've seen the list, what do you think of the idea of having ten nominations for Best Pic? Who was robbed? Who did the robbing?
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Posted in Columns, Current Events, Film, What Do You Think? | 5 Comments »

Lessons From Jay, Coco, and Zucker

January 27, 2010
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Lessons From Jay, Coco, and Zucker

In debriefing what went wrong with the Jay Leno Show, we shouldn’t just ask what Leno’s failure says – we should also ask what the combination of the failure and the momentary ratings spike says.
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Posted in Industry, Perspectives, TV | 2 Comments »

Simon Says Cheerio

January 13, 2010
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Simon Says Cheerio

Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol. But ironically to keep the "American" in American Idol, the show needs Simon, or at least an angry, pompous, belittling Brit judge like him.
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Posted in Celebrity/Stardom, Current Events, Music, TV | 2 Comments »

Holiday Media

December 25, 2009
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Holiday Media

What are your and your family's holiday viewing, listening, and/or reading rituals?
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Posted in Columns, What Do You Think? | 7 Comments »

Canadian Butts to American Sitcom Jokes

December 22, 2009
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Canadian Butts to American Sitcom Jokes

Canadian characters and jokes seem to be all the rage in American sitcoms, but why is 30 Rock missing the mark?
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Posted in Current Events, TV | 8 Comments »

Ratings Pet Peeve #32 – Are Ratings a Good Measure of the Popular?

December 12, 2009
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Ratings Pet Peeve #32 – Are Ratings a Good Measure of the Popular?

Popularity is also about cultural salience, about a show’s place in popular culture, and about whether it really matters to people
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Posted in Industry, Perspectives, TV | 4 Comments »

Aren’t Ratings Meant to Go Up During Sweeps?

December 1, 2009
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Aren’t Ratings Meant to Go <i>Up</i> During Sweeps?

With the first sweeps weeks of the television season now behind us, the numbers suggest that it was a pretty lousy month. Indeed, far more shows experienced their lowest ratings of the season than did better.
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Posted in Current Events, Industry, TV | Comments Off on Aren’t Ratings Meant to Go Up During Sweeps?

Google’s Offensively Bad Image Search

November 24, 2009
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Google’s Offensively Bad Image Search

If you did a Google image search this morning on “Michelle Obama,” you would’ve seen a horribly racist caricature of the First Lady depicted as part monkey.
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Posted in Current Events, Internet | Comments Off on Google’s Offensively Bad Image Search

Ratings Pet Peeve #45: Pundit Wars and Politics

November 18, 2009
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Ratings Pet Peeve #45: Pundit Wars and Politics

Today’s pet peeve: how some pop critics and observers try to read cable news ratings as a sign of which political philosophy is in the ascendancy, or even of which outlet is trusted.
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Posted in Industry, Perspectives, Politics, TV | 2 Comments »

What Do You Think? Mad Men Season 3

November 9, 2009
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What Do You Think? Mad Men Season 3

With Season Three drawing to a close this past Sunday night, what did you think of the finale and the season as a whole? Need I mention: spoiler alert
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Posted in Columns, What Do You Think? | 2 Comments »