Le Blog

Life Lessons

When The Power Went Out, Light Bulbs Went Off

I had every intention of following last night’s Emmy awards telecast with the diligence of the reporter I once aspired to be.  I fixed a healthy salmon salad, I settled into the recliner, and even found my way to the Peacock feed that allowed me to see the lame red carpet interviews in glorious 4K.

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Media Musings

A Golden Opportunity For The Emmy Awards To Truly Matter Again

I’ve documented and discussed the growing indifference to awards, and especially awards shows, on several previous occasions.  The Emmys have seen an especially precipitous decline in popularity and zeitgeist in recent years, perhaps self-inflicted.  Not only has broadcast television been all but ignored in nominations, let alone victories, save for occasional outliers like black-ISH and

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Media Musings

Goodbye, Columbus

When I ran research projects for various FOX networks, I championed the need to be sure we were not only talking to representative people based on demography and level of interest, but also geography.  Long before the cheat of online groups were a viable option, we’d criss-cross the country like surrepititious vagabonds, starting out in

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Media Musings

Wheel! Of! Fortune! XL(+VIII?)

Forgive my “get off my lawn” attitude when it comes to revisionist history about game shows.  It seems that many alleged historians forget that many shows’ histories didn’t necessarily begin when they first became popular.  THE PRICE IS RIGHT’s current incarnation turned 50 this year; it was first established as a wildly popular, more sedate show

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Media Musings

Still Kicking It

One of the joys of working in entertainment if you’re actually a fan of it is if you’re lucky you get to work with some of the most enduring intellectual properties that can be found in any industry.  Few studios are as rich in IP as Sony, with rights to decades of Columbia Pictures movies

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Media Musings

Is Amazon Being As Transparent As They Once Were?

Former Disney chairman Bob Iger was the featured interview at the Code Conference yesterday in sweltering Los Angeles, and he made headlines with even hotter takes about the future of the entertainment industry.  If you haven’t yet digested his takes, prodded by the brilliant tech/media savant Kara Swisher, I strongly encourage you to do so. 

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Media Musings

Double Jeopardy?

As what is left of a fall TV season begins to unfold, local stations are getting ready to debut new shows to replace the numerous veterans that are departing.  No more prominent on this list are the time periods being given up with Ellen DeGeneres’ departure, which becomes official at the end of this week

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Media Musings

Here’s A Headline: We’re Different. But, Perhaps, Not As Much As You Think

For my money (such as it is these days), there are few more valuable resources of information on media than the Variety! VIP+ platform, which frequently features deep dives often authored by the likes of Gavin Bridge, analyst extraordinaire.   Last week, a report called DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDE: HOW AGE DIFFERENCES CONTINUE TO DRIVE CONSUMER TRENDS IN

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Media Musings

Smile. Though Your Heart Is Aching.

On my fourth stiff drink of the night at the most joyous and needed Labor Day pool party I’ve ever attended the host (who holds his liquor better than me) asked me this ponderable: “Because of the world we’re in, have you ever met a hero of yours and gotten to them personally, and then

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