Tag: Television

CNN’s New Leaders Try to Move On From Chris Licht’s Stormy Tenure

It began like any other day at CNN. Scores of staff members tuned in the network’s Thursday morning editorial call from New York, Los Angeles, London and far-flung world capitals. But there was one difference: Chris Licht, who was fired as the network’s chairman on Wednesday, wasn’t on the call. It was led by Virginia […]

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Pat Robertson, Who Brought Christian Conservatives Clout, Dies at 93

Pat Robertson, a Baptist minister with a passion for politics who marshaled Christian conservatives into a powerful constituency that helped Republicans capture both houses of Congress in 1994, died on Thursday at his home in Virginia Beach, Va. He was 93. His death was announced by the Christian Broadcasting Network, which Mr. Robertson founded in […]

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The Joan Rivers Card Catalog of Jokes Finds a Home

When Joan Rivers died in 2014, ending one of the greatest careers in modern comedy, several groups were interested in acquiring her archives, which included a meticulously organized collection of 65,000 typewritten jokes. Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, recalled a conversation with a representative from the Smithsonian Institution who wanted the catalog of jokes but said […]

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Who Are the 4 People Running CNN Now?

On Wednesday, Chris Licht’s turbulent tenure at CNN was abruptly cut short, just over a year after he stepped into the top job. The network will be managed on an interim basis by a group of three editorial executives — Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling — until a permanent replacement for Mr. Licht […]

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Does CNN’s Turmoil Mean There’s No Room on Cable for Independent News?

The Warner Bros. Discovery chief, David Zaslav, was clear from the day he took control of CNN in 2022 about what he wanted for the cable news network. Publicly and privately he told associates, reporters and whoever else might care that he wanted to move the network away from what he viewed as left-leaning “advocacy” […]

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David Zaslav Picked Chris Licht to Revamp CNN. Now What?

The media mogul David Zaslav handpicked Chris Licht last year to run CNN, handing the reins of one of the country’s top news organizations to a longtime show producer. On Wednesday, just 13 months later, Mr. Zaslav said that he was reversing course, and Mr. Licht was out. “For a number of reasons things didn’t […]

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Actors Authorize Potential Strike With Hollywood Writers Still Picketing

The News The union that represents more than 160,000 film and television actors voted on Monday night to authorize a strike, two days before it is to begin negotiations on a new labor deal with the Hollywood studios. The result from members of the SAG-AFTRA union, with 98 percent authorizing a strike, was expected, and […]

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‘The Idol’ and Our Backlash Times

To write about “The Idol” at all is to fall into a bit of a trap, because the show desperately wants to be a scandal. In March, Rolling Stone reported that “The Idol,” originally intended as a satire of the music business, had devolved into what one source called “sexual torture porn” after the sudden […]

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Chris Licht of CNN Faces a Crisis. Here’s Why.

Ratings have plummeted. Profits have shrunk. A top star has been pushed out. CNN has had a tumultuous first year under Chris Licht, who took over as the network’s chief executive last spring. And then on Friday, a 15,000-word profile of Mr. Licht in The Atlantic cast new doubts about his leadership and future at […]

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Tim Robinson and the Golden Age of Cringe Comedy

Robinson spooned more chiles onto his noodles. “That’s the thing about spice,” he said. “It’s addicting.” Soon, mercifully, the restaurant closed, and we said goodbye, and they went off to do more late-night editing. Over the past 20 years, American culture has been gorging itself nearly to death on cringe comedy. “The Office”, “Curb Your […]

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Shannon Sharpe Replacement Betting Odds: Who Will Co-Host ‘Undisputed’ With Skip Bayless Next?

NewsOne Featured Video CLOSE Shannon Sharpe’s partnership with Skip Bayless on FS1’s Undisputed provided countless legendary moments, memes, and water cooler conversations. But alas, that era has come to an end. FS1 announced this week that Sharpe’s time on the show will be coming to an end soon, following the two sides’ agreement on a […]

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‘The Idol’: The Weeknd, Sam Levinson and Lily Rose-Depp on Their Graphic Pop Drama

Last month, the director Sam Levinson and his stars, Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. the Weeknd) and Lily-Rose Depp, walked into the Lumière Theater at the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of the first two episodes of their show, “The Idol,” to a standing ovation. The lights hadn’t yet dimmed, but pomp and celebrity fuels Cannes, […]

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Analyzing Shiv’s Decision on ‘Succession’ With a Feminist Text

Did you watch the finale of “Succession” on HBO this week? If so, did the final shot of Tom and Shiv in their car make you think of “Bargaining With Patriarchy,” Deniz Kandiyoti’s 1988 article that is a classic feminist text? Me too! And not just because “Bargaining With Patriarchy” would make an extremely literal […]

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A Peek Behind the MAGA Curtain

Every now and then, it’s important to watch Fox News in prime time. No, not because the programs are particularly good or because the hosts tell their audience the truth. Fox is writing Dominion Voting Systems a $787.5 million check for very good reasons, and it still faces a multibillion-dollar lawsuit from Smartmatic over the […]

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How to Watch the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee

For nearly 100 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has showcased the biggest words from the youngest lexicologists. The inaugural champion, 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, correctly spelled “gladiolus” to claim a prize of $500 at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The words have only gotten harder, the pressure greater and the national spotlight […]

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Gaming is helping Hollywood

Connect with top gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. Register here. For as long as I’ve been working in the games industry, and honestly for a long time before that there’s been an ever present topic of conversation. Rachel Kaser, Dmitri Johnson, Ted Schilowitz and Maureen Fan got together […]

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Laying ‘Succession’ to Rest: Pain Sponges, Heels of Bread and Eldest Boys

Listen to and follow ‘Matter of Opinion’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon Music The New York Times Audio app includes podcasts, narrated articles from the newsroom and other publishers and exclusive new shows — including this one — which we’re making available to readers for a limited time. Download the audio app here. […]

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‘Succession’: Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun Discuss the Finale

Sadomasochistic. Abusive. Codependent. These might all describe the deranged bromance between Tom Wambsgans, the cornfed basic, and Greg Hirsch, the leggy princeling of ATN, in “Succession.” But despite blackmail and ritual humiliation, this proved to be the most enduring and arguably the most loving relationship in the show, which wrapped up on Sunday night. (Spoilers […]

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The Great Genius of ‘Succession’ Was Hovering Two Inches Above Reality

The writers and producers of “Succession” adhered to rigorous verisimilitude in depicting the corporate scheming, the lust for power for its own sake, the look and feel of life inside the bubble of the very rich, an unhappy family unhappy in its own way, even the self-consciously jargony talk and strenuous insults. Its understanding of […]

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‘Stealth Wealth’ and Bare Feet: How Power Dresses on ‘Succession’

Followers of the Styles desk’s discussions about the clothes worn on “Succession” (as well as a number of social media accounts) know how obsessively fans have tracked and dissected the characters’ cardigans, caps, shoes, watches and, on occasion, unfortunate handbags. On Sunday, the show reaches its finale and so a final check-in with Michelle Matland, […]

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Inside Fox’s Legal and Business Debacle

In August 2021, the Fox Corporation board of directors gathered on the company’s movie studio lot in Los Angeles. Among the topics on the agenda: Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against its cable news network, Fox News. The suit posed a threat to the company’s finances and reputation. But Fox’s chief legal officer, […]

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Ed Ames, Singing Star Who Became a Familiar Face on TV, Dies at 95

Ed Ames, who first gained fame as the lead singer of the Ames Brothers, a chart-topping group whose success predated the rise of rock ’n’ roll, and who then turned to acting as Fess Parker’s Indian companion on the popular NBC show “Daniel Boone,” died on Sunday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He […]

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