Oswald
A lying narcissist with a big tie. But any resemblance to a real person is purely coincidental.
Que me ves guey
Walking on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, I saw this face and caption on T-shirts at kiosk after kiosk.
Reality TV and the White House
“Omarosa was fired three times on The Apprentice, and this is the fourth time we let her go.” “We”? The blurred line between reality TV and the White House could not be clearer.
“An image of the audience”
Neil Postman on the politician as an image of the audience.
Sean Spicer at the Emmys
Ugh.
Eyes on the plane
Andrew Sullivan’s recent lament about the failure of “elites” to protect democracy from the likes of Donald Trump misses the point that Trump’s candidacy is itself the product of an elite — not a political elite but a media elite, one that has kept Trump (and even his parked plane) front and center for months now.
A hashtag of possible interest
BaltimoreCoverageYouMayNotSee
Baltimore questions
Is live television coverage in Baltimore meant to help bring about the violence that we now see on CNN? Is it too cynical to acknowledge that broadcasting such stuff serves broadcasters’ interests? And is it too cynical to suspect that broadcasting such stuff serves to strengthen a larger narrative about color and criminality?
Why save PBS?
A poster from PBS.
Newton Minow, fifty years later
Fifty years after “a vast wasteland,” Newton Minow proposes six goals for the next fifty years of communications technology.
“Margaret Disowns Her Family”
Not your father’s Father Knows Best.
Mad Men yourself
Turn yourself into a Mad Men person
Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite commenting on Richard Nixon's resignation speech, as seen on a Washington, D.C. television set, August 1974. A photograph by Gjon Mili.
Real housewives fifth-graders
The Real Housewives of New York makes better sense if you think of the cast as fifth-graders.
Classic Arts Showcase
Great free cable service