I finally caught up with the seeming phenomenon of BEAST GAMES and its eponymous torquemada and Gen Alpha icon Jimmy Donaldson, aka “Mr. Beast”. Donaldson is ostensibly the King of YouTube, with his 350 million subscribers a testimony to the level of popularity and clout he wields. That’s slightly more than the entire current population … Read more
I may not be the youngest or tech-savviest person with tentacles to media, but I know there are folks that are even less so in both categories. In the late oughts, an older producer excitedly trumpeted the opening of his independent shingle, cashing in on a few longtime relationships to get a little press in … Read more
The CBS EVENING NEWS is one of the more storied names in broadcasting history. It has existed with that monicker for more than 60 years and was the first nightly network newscast to occupy a half-hour. It actually has roots that go all the way back to 1941, when Richard Hubbell anchored two daily 15-minute … Read more
I have a long and complicated history with SHOWTIME. I actually was able to watch it even before I saw a second of HBO, thanks to the fact that the 12-channel cable system in my college town was the notoriously cheap then-monolith TeleprompTer and they were unwilling to pay what they thought were the exorbitant … Read more
I admit to having a soft spot for CNN, and it’s not just because of the three years I spent with their parent company just after the first Gulf War turned what was even internally referred to as Chicken Noodle News into an indispensable and valued always-on resource for breaking news and vital information. They … Read more
The Oscar nominations are finally out, delayed a couple of weeks because of some minor annoyances like a few unprecedented fires that may or may not have disrupted the process of Academy voters actually doing the necessary work to watch the works of those that have attracted acclaim, buzz and earlier awards. It sure seems … Read more
I’m honestly doing my best to try and remain objective and indifferent as the second term of DJT unfolds. I realize that’s hardly an approach that’s winning me any brownie points with anyone, and it’s increasingly clear the Maginot lines are being drawn even starker and becoming more cemented between partisan sides. My roommate is … Read more
I’m sure for those of you not proactive enough to completely avoid your social media accounts were as unable as I was to avoid the degree of aghast and abhorrence that was turned on Elon Musk in the wake of what TIME’s Chad De Guzman described in his account of the events of Monday in … Read more
Like so many of you who apparently weren’t Jonesing to the celebration of whim and oligarchy that took place in frigid Washington, D.C. yesterday, a distraction was more needed than usual. Fortunately some astute folks at Peacock apparently foresaw that, or simply wanted to take advantage of a winter holiday weekend to showcase their latest … Read more
Depending upon when you’re reading this, we are either a scant few hours away from or a scant few hours into the second coming of President Donald J. Trump. No, I’m not thrilled about it either. When he defiantly removed his mask after battling COVID in the fall of 2020 at a time when more … Read more