Online reviews, viewer anger sink Mandy Kaling’s Scooby-Doo-less reboot In the 40 years I’ve followed the television business, I’ve never seen a series as panned as Velma – and I don’t mean by TV critics. On its way to becoming one of the biggest flops in television history, HBO Max released the much-talked about Velma adult animated series from Mandy […]
Twitter’s path under Elon Musk follows those of other media companies In the 37 years I’ve followed media, I have never seen a media company – social or not – that’s been run into the ground quicker than what I’m seeing with Elon Musk and Twitter. In the sixteen years I’ve written this blog, I’ve written about how egotism and […]
West’s comments about Jewish people and George Floyd put him on the spot, but a lack of outrage (outside of social media) may keep him on black radio [Editors Note: This post was updated on October 30.] Here we go again: former Chicagoan and rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye, but for the purposes of this item we’ll call […]
Brash billionaire likely to send social media platform to ruins, similar to what Zell did to the Tribune As you know by now, billionaire Elon Musk has bought Twitter, Inc. for $54.20 a share, or for $44 billion. The outright purchase of the social media platform by the world’s richest man came after Musk acquired shares in the company, […]
Party’s over as competition, governments take aim at streaming giant It wasn’t too long ago Netflix was the toast of the town, heralded as the best entertainment had to offer on a new, emerging platform. The company partied hardy for years feasting on praise as the darling of Wall Street. Well, the bill is now due. In a […]
Once one of the premier teams in sports, a sex scandal sends the team’s popularity into the toilet Scandal gives Chicago’s image yet another black eye – one of a lot as the team’s decline also reflects the city’s If you’ve read the blog over the years, this space has devoted quite a bit to Chicago sports and how […]
Lightfoot’s decision to exclude white journalists sets off firestorm. But it’s a conversation long overdue The latest dustup between the Chicago media and minority communities is unusual because the person behind it happens to be the Mayor of Chicago. On Tuesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot – the first Black woman to be elected to the position in the city’s history, decided […]
NewsNation in the fight of its short life after Lyons, key staffers depart Back when NewsNation was announced in January 2020, Nexstar – who just acquired Tribune Media and cable network WGN America, hoped to provide an alternative to what the cable “news” networks were offering – hard news without opinion. NewsNation launched here in Chicago on September 1, hiring […]
ABC and NBC schedule Presidential town halls opposite each other as ratings dictate decisions instead of common sense NBC’s decision to schedule a President Trump town hall opposite Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is so ridiculous, it’s hard to explain. A second Presidential debate was supposed to take place tonight between Trump and Biden. But Trump tested positive for […]
Chicago’s news media under fire for coverage of African-American communities Even though a Tribune article published Friday fell short in describing the tense relationship between the local news media and the Black community, it did bring up valid points needing to be addressed. In a sub-headline titled “Black Chicagoans, white media at odds”, writer Christen Johnson reported on the frail […]
Chicago crime grabs more airtime than Covid-19 pandemic as the city continues to grab global headlines for gun violence You’d think in a middle of a national health pandemic, cable news channels would focus on the issues at hand when more than 150,000 people have died from Covid-19, right? Of course not – especially when it comes to Fox News. […]
So major news organizations will now capitalize the words black and brown with a capital B. Well, here’s a thought starting with a capital “B” – Big deal. [Editor’s Note: An earlier draft contained some profanity, which has since been removed. – T. H.] After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis – triggering protests and uprisings around the country, […]
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s untimely death, the world is calling for reform – and the media business must follow the lead [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on July 1 and on December 1.] As one of the few African-Americans who writes a media blog, for years I’ve been pushing for more diversity in the media business, whether […]
Latest controversy tells us the show’s producers aren’t willing to learn their lesson on social issues When a contestant named Colton Cumbie exhibited racist behavior on Survivor: One World, this blog called out the show, Hollywood, and the media business in general for failing hard on diversity in a business that’s overwhelmingly white and male. Nearly eight years later, the […]
McQueary’s piece on radio is a complete waste of time and space, as she is a member of the same political party who helped deregulate radio – leading to piped-in out-of-town voices in the first place. Every once in a while, you have those who work in the media who write about the media, proving how completely clueless they are […]