Topic: Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture
All Content
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Vox News
Biden-Ryan debate: Already, some are complaining about the moderator (+video)Biden-Ryan debate moderator is Martha Raddatz. The conservative Daily Caller posted a blog about the ABC News veteran, alleging bias because of her '90s marriage to an Obama appointee.
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Is the end of late-night TV as we've known it near?
Two staples of late-night TV – 'The Tonight Show' and 'Nightline' – received bad news this month, suggesting that a recasting of the late-night order might not be far off.
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Modern Parenthood
Olympic viewing: The sparks of family bonding can reduce ‘withdrawal’Olympic viewing, says one expert, is a rollercoaster dream that creates family bonding in the daily date with excitement and 'Olympics withdrawal' when it's all done. This mom says the 2012 London Games have sparked a revelation about one son's dream to compete in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2016 – so there will be no withdrawal as the Olympic dream keeps going.
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Biggest loser in DirecTV-Viacom feud? Both. (+video)
The standoff between DirecTV and Viacom risks accelerating the move away from television to iPads and smart phones – and the expectation of access to content anywhere, anytime.
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Nora Ephron had rare, crowd-pleasing ability to mix humor and feminism
Screenwriter and journalist Nora Ephron, who died Tuesday, had a knack for being humorous while tackling controversial, important topics. She broke barriers for women in Hollywood and elsewhere.
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Oprah charts comeback with big-name interviews (+video)
Oprah Winfrey is working to revive her OWN channel with more celebrity interviews, including the Kardashians. But Katie Couric is also vying for big-name interviews.
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'Car Talk' to end, leaving void in mechanics-who-talk-like-Noël Coward niche
Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the Tappet Brothers of 'Car Talk' fame, announced that they will end their 35-year run on public radio in September. The unique show was comedy 'of the first order.'
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Ray Bradbury, a passionate sci-fi writer with the gifts of a painter
Ray Bradbury wrote his more than 500 stories, novels, plays, and poems on a typewriter, creating imagery that helped bring sci-fi and fantasy into the mainstream of American popular culture.
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How 'Hatfields and McCoys' became cable's biggest-ever hit
The History Channel miniseries 'Hatfields and McCoys' is the most-watched non-sports show ever on cable. Yes, it's violent and vulgar, but it's also good, movie-style entertainment, critics say.
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'Hatfields and McCoys': Is History Channel miniseries fact or fiction?
The family feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is brought to life in a new History Channel series. But history and folk legend blur as the show follows the lead of cable TV's more mature fare.
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Mike Wallace: the legendary '60 Minutes' career that almost wasn't (+video)
Mike Wallace, who died this weekend, considered another path after covering the 1968 presidential campaign. But in the end, he set a high standard for serious long-form investigative journalism.
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Obama's March Madness? Why he's taking British PM to hoops extravaganza.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is in the US, so why not hold the press conference at a March Madness basketball game? What do you think of Iran, Mr. Cameron ... and please pass the corn dogs.
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Is bias-free news coverage coming back into vogue?
After years in which news outlets became associated with one political slant or another, there are some signs that a course correction is under way in the media. So far, the shift is a subtle one.
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Academy Awards 2012: why Oscar winners are often head-scratchers
Academy Award winners aren't always the ones the viewing public expects – or wants. But the secretive Academy likes it that way. Don't forget, you're not in the Oscar club
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Whitney Houston death: a moment of national mourning, shared on Twitter
Some 2.5 million tweets about the passing of Whitney Houston had filled the digisphere within an hour, making it the most-tweeted breaking-news event in Twitter's history.
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Why some musicians are protesting this year’s Grammy Awards show
The Recording Academy has eliminated 31 categories of Grammy Awards, many of which are often won by minorities. A protest rally and alternative concert will be held on Sunday.
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'Soul Train' icon Don Cornelius changed the beat of the nation
'Soul Train' creator, Don Cornelius, took the pulse of black culture and broadcast it into living rooms across the nation. Before Facebook and Twitter, he connected a generation of teens.
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Lowe's stores face protests for pulling ads from 'All American Muslim'
Lowe’s Home Improvement stores pulled its ads from the TV show 'All American Muslim' when the obscure Florida Family Association objected to a positive portrayal of Muslims in the US. Protesters are expected to picket Lowe's stores around the country Saturday.
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Vox News
President Obama on 'The Tonight Show': A good move?President Obama will appear on 'The Tonight Show' Tuesday for the fourth time. The show will give the president a wider audience but might have limited benefits, experts say.
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Unveiling of Pottermore and J.K. Rowling's secrets: worth the wait?
Saturday's launch of J.K. Rowling's Pottermore, the new website about all things Harry Potter, comes after an extended test drive. Some see crass commercialism. Others see 'amazing' world.
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Does America really need 'X-Factor'? In two words, 'heck yes.'
'The X-Factor,' another singing reality competition, debuts Wednesday. At what point will the US public hit singing TV saturation? Not yet, suggest experts and critics.
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'Oprah Winfrey Show' ends, but Oprah's legacy lives on
With the finale of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ on Wednesday, critics are debating the real legacy of the woman who transformed the daily talk show from a tabloid sideshow into a national self-help platform.
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Ashton Kutcher joins 'Two and a Half Men.' Will the show do better or worse?
Ashton Kutcher replaces Charlie Sheen, but it’s unlikely that he’ll play the same character. Several TV shows that have made key changes in the cast have done well – but not all.
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Comcast-NBC Universal deal: Can company now crush its rivals?
The Comcast-NBC Universal merger is on a scale that even the experts don’t quite grasp, many observers say.
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In 'Tron: Legacy,' Jeff Bridges gets top billing. But is he the movie's star?
'Tron: Legacy' is further evidence that Hollywood is catering to a new generation of moviegoers whose appetite for video games and reality TV has changed the very nature of stardom.
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