37 years ago today I reported to work in the state of California at a full-time job for the first time. It was, in a word, memorable. I had spent the weekend moving in to my temporary residence at the Oakwood Apartments near Universal Studios. I had my first Hollywood hot tub experience the night … Read more
After a week where like it or not we’ve now become more invested in the mental health of Will Smith, the honor of Jada Pinkett Smith and the safety of Chris Rock than anyone in their actual personal spaces and security protocols have been, I needed a night of pure escape. So I caught up … Read more
It seems every human being with a web address feels the compulsion to weigh in on the Slap Heard ‘Round The World that Will Smith bestowed upon Chris Rock on live television Sunday night. (Upon further review, it was considered more of a slap than a punch). As someone who passionately believes that what I … Read more
This morning CNN launched its long-awaited streaming service, unimaginatively called CNN+. Yes, I subscribed; don’t admonish me. I’m a bit of a news junkie, I’d like to think I’m a thorough observer of all things media, and I once worked for the company. For less than six bits a week, I now have access to … Read more
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Where there’s two Wills, there’s chaos. And perhaps it was all designed to be reminiscent of another time when ABC needed a WTF incident on live TV to breathe life into a struggling franchise. Will Packer was tasked with reinvigorating an Oscars awards broadcast that had hemorrhaged more … Read more
The Oscars are being given out tonight, restored to its Hollywood venue, a full-fledged red carpet and rife with anticipation that TV rating downtrends of recent years will be reversed. A lot of attention has been paid to a precipitous ratings decline that reached dumpster-fire proportions last spring, when the muted Union Station affair failed … Read more
It has been a pretty eventful week for my friends and aspirational colleagues at the Nielsen Company. In the same week that their board rejected a buyout offer from Elliott Management that was reportedly $6 billion below the previously reported valuation, they were informed by the Media Rating Council that they still would not reinstate … Read more
If it hadn’t been for William Shatner and a long Shea Stadium ticket line, today wouldn’t be the strangest anniversary to celebrate. OK, let’s unpack this. My all-time favorite game show is PYRAMID, which back in 1975 was just a $10,000 triangle. Among its more exuberant players was Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. While a … Read more
This is sort of a milestone for this space, the 150th of these exercises since we started dabbling roughly ten months ago. As I have struggled to find a voice and an audience, topics have wavered between, as one astute observer shared with me, “pop culture, media insights and a personal journey”, three words have … Read more
I debated about this entry on my flights home yesterday (yes, ye who troll, I committed the cardinal sin of traveling on planes during a pandemic yet again; would you like a full report?). The person I will call out here tacitly reminded me that to do so might be seen as disparaging many people … Read more