Eric Deggans

SPECIAL EVENT: Excited to announce that Geoff Bennett, co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour is coming to Washington and Lee’s University Chapel at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 5, as part of our 82nd annual Ethics Institute. The event is free and open to the public. DETAILS: https://loom.ly/FznHlyU

Why is the modern GOP struggling with a Nazi problem? John Oliver lays out the case in a simple, powerful, hilarious way, connecting the inability of today's Republicans to denounce white supremacy to a long tradition inside the party. WATCH: https://loom.ly/y1gqvds

Visibly reject propaganda. Refuse to play the culture war game. Support traditional, transparent journalism, even when the outlets practicing it disappoint you. Don't give into knee jerk cynicism, despair or anger. Push traditional journalists to be better, but understand they will never be perfect

Fox News. X. Meta. Newsmax. Sinclair Media Group. Skydance. The FCC. to name a few...

Wow. Could people be smart enough to turn back autocracy and turn away from fear?

Guess what? TV shows about journalists don't depict journalism well, neither do most TV shows about police officers or musicians or anything else you can name. Most jobs, even notable ones, are often/usually boring to those not doing them. TV has to tell different kinds of stories...

As much acclaim as the 4th season of Netflix's The Diplomat is getting, why isn't it a more pervasive hit? I blame Netflix's stubborn insistence on binge releasing episodes, making it tougher to build buzz. I talked about it on the NPR/WBUR show Here and Now and on Substack. loom.ly/3oKf_wY

Yeah, that's not really what the piece is about.

Poynter included me in a story about whether to quote offensive language used by officials. “What we’re trying to do as journalists is to be very specific about what we’re describing and get away from these generalized terms that are weighted with emotion and politics.” READ: loom.ly/2xN9tKA

Jon Stewart will stay at The Daily Show at least two more years as Monday host and EP, w/new contact until Dec. 2028, Skydance-owned Comedy Central said today. Hollywood seems to be trying to decide if Skydance CEO David Ellison will treat everyone like CBS News; this may help push back on that.

Wow. Hollywood Reporter sez Christiane Amanpour will leave CNN in June, ending a 43-year career there. Is she smartly leaving before cost-cutting by new owners Skydance puts her in a tough spot? Or avoiding working for an Ellison-owned platform? https://loom.ly/uNx4unI

Northwestern University's 2026 State of Local News Report paints a sobering picture of the industry, including more "news deserts" where communities have no local news source. "In the past year, 170 newspapers have closed or merged..a rate of nearly three a week." READ: loom.ly/ZswoCbQ

Have they ever heard of the Streisand Effect?

Another contender for the Streisand effect: Tik Tok banned account for documentary on Elon Musk, ensuring more attention. https://loom.ly/VGYvKkU

If u missed: My suggestions for really great TV viewing this weekend are two profoundly different series - VisionQuest and The Diplomat. Check out my argument for why each is an example of a smart series taking big swings in compelling ways. https://loom.ly/3oKf_wY

I may be the only TV fan who loves both VisionQuest and The Diplomat. But check out my argument for why each is an example of a smart series taking big swings. https://loom.ly/3oKf_wY

She lasted half a Scaramucci: Trump White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving the job after five days. I don't think claiming she was a lawyer/attorney without passing the bar was her downfall. It was looking weak while representing Trump. loom.ly/AMT44Tw

I raved on NPR's Here and Now last week about the greatness of CBS' new drama about Silicon Valley, Cupertino. Now they've made the first episode available to watch for free on YouTube, so you cna see for yourself. ENJOY: https://loom.ly/I4KqmBQ

It is a special kind of incompetence that leads to appointing someone White House press secretary who has not been truthful about being a lawyer. Either Trump was too blinded by her loyalty to vet her or he didn't care what would happen when press eventually unmasked her. READ: loom.ly/iL4x2Lc

Canadian news outlet Forum Daily News asked me likely result of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery uniting under Skydance banner. My answer: Mass layoffs, spun off properties, rising subscription fees and a gigantic company saddled w/historic amounts of debt. WATCH: https://loom.ly/WXu6V_E

From my colleague David Folkenflik: A federal judge has ruled that President Trump cannot ban news organizations from covering him at the White House because he does not like their coverage — at least, until a formal trial. READ: https://loom.ly/ToxKJnc

Why do we seem trapped in runaway argument culture in cable TV news and social media? I dropped my thoughts on this issue in an appearance on the public media program Story in the Public Square w/host Jim Ludes, presented by The Pell Center. WATCH: https://loom.ly/2HJmcC8

Not at all, my friend. Not at all.

The only time I met Fox News Channel founder Roger Ailes, we argued about journalism values vs showmanship/ratings. Turns out, we were both right, but his vision produced a political operation disguised as a cable newschannel celebrating its 30th anniversary. READ: https://loom.ly/bioh66s

So...The same Trump administration which has no problem OKing a merger allowing a single company to control local TV stations reaching 80% of U.S. households suddenly cries antitrust when a press pool refuses to cover the president after he unfairly bans one member? loom.ly/KOU127A

If u missed: My essay on Fox News Channel’s 30th birthday and how so much of its success has fed the worst elements of modern media and society, including racism, sexism and political division. https://loom.ly/Tm4tbwk

Decided to write something on Fox News Channel’s 30th birthday and how so much of its success has fed the worst elements of modern media and society. https://loom.ly/Tm4tbwk

Best thing about streaming is that episodes will sit there until you're ready to engage with them!

Had a wonderful time chopping up new fall TV shows with Madeline Brand on her show for KCRW, Press Play. We talked Disney+'s VisionQuest, CBS' Cupertino, Netflix's Primetime Preacher$ and the A Different World revival, among others. LISTEN: loom.ly/POMSN1I

So awesome! I love to hear when a recommendation works out!

You had some historic concert experiences! That’s so cool!

On the sixth anniversary of his death, I’m posting a tribute to the late, great Eddie Van Halen I originally wrote for a different website, describing how he help feed my cross-cultural love of hard rock. https://loom.ly/H-i71xQ

Thanks so much!

This is an an amazing and bizarre story of a “news” website in the small town of Winchester, VA which has no bylines, seems to have AI generated stories and forced a freelance staffer to sign an NDA. How an anonymously-run news website can appear in a news desert. READ: https://loom.ly/4u6bDjk

If u missed: My essay on the challenges and unlikely optimism I found among journalists after a year spent helping to revamp the Society of Professional Journalists new Code of Ethics, including stops at the Texas Tribune Festival and SPJ’s national conference. READ: https://loom.ly/vzydwRI

Read through the linked column and click the appropriate links.

Since it seems that Netflix has added a bunch of Louis CK specials to its lineup, I'm going to resurface my old column about his alliance with the mega-streamer, with a reminder of what we all lose when showbiz tries to move on without dealing w/his terribleness. READ: https://loom.ly/KOgdFpk

After seeing the Society of Professional Journalists vote to adopt an updated Code of Ethics I helped develop, I came away with a renewed sense of hope and concern for the state of modern journalism. READ: https://loom.ly/vzydwRI

Wrote a little something for NPR on tonight's season finale for HBO's Lanterns, which delivered a different kind of superhero story right up to its last episode -- showing the industry how to reinvent the genre in the process. READ: https://loom.ly/VJNFMbM

Not a Netflix original.

Wow.

Quick plea here for folks to subscribe to my Substack. All the content is free, and it includes essays about why HBO's Lanterns works (season finale is tomorrow!), why new the Skydance company proves money always wins and my 30-year mission covering Star Trek as a critic. READ: loom.ly/mTmFl2Q

Red Notice? Carry On? Bird Box?

There’s a big difference between “gone” and “gradually scrubbed.” There will always be a fight in creative industries between un creative shortcuts and genuine artistic process.

That is absolutely not true. I see it in major artistic works every day. Watch Sinners, Lanterns, Furious, or Margo’s Got Money Troubles and tell me there isn’t major human creativity in big TV and film projects.

Well, we’ll agree to disagree on Costco.

I agree. Someone called Netflix the Costco of TV. And that’s what you get when most creative decisions about movies are made by algorithms and not executives leaning to support artists.

He doesn’t have a show anymore. It was cancelled when Trump-appeasing executives bought control of CNN’s parent company, canceled the show and fired him. Luckily, CNN realized their mistake when a new executive began running the newsroom and hired him back a few years later.

As a stone fan of British TV and Dominic West, it's tough to describe how much I enjoyed watching this new series on a wealthy couple's divorce and how the lawyers made it worse, called War. But I tried on WBUR/NPR's midday show Here and Now. LISTEN: https://loom.ly/DOY_2FY