“Thirty years on, however, we’ve dropped the rose-coloured glasses, and our response to realizing he sold us out to suburbia echoes Molly Ringwald’s response in Vanity Fair when he dropped her once she grew out of it. ‘It was very hurtful and it still hurts.'”
Category: media
South Africa’s Public Broadcaster Lurches From Crisis To Crisis
Battles over the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) go back decades before the end of apartheid, but the network’s biggest problems these days seem to sten from its COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng. He has been accused of censorship and interference in media content, sudden and capricious decrees, lying about his educational credentials, and a bullying management style that South Africa’s Public Protector called “pathological.”
A First: Audio Streaming Exceeds Video Streams
“Services like Apple Music and Spotify delivered 114 billion streams in the first six months of 2016, with video platforms on 95 billion. Overall, the streaming market increased by 58% year-on-year.”
Summer Doldrums: Epic Low Network TV Ratings Last Week
Because of barbecues, fireworks and other outdoor activities, the weeks around July 4th are often the least-watched time of the year in television. Networks usually plan accordingly, keeping most of its best material on the shelf. CBS also had its lowest week in the ratings in nearly four years, Nielsen said.
Too Darn Hot: Why White-Hero-In-The-Jungle Movies Just Won’t Go Away (It’s Not Only About Colonialist Myth)
“Jungle films have never really toed the ideological line of these colonial creation myths, however. They’ve always been more interested in getting bums on seats – and on screens, if possible. When pondering Tarzan’s enduring screen popularity, the potential for depicting male beefcake cannot be discounted. Acting skills are a bonus for the role; a great physique is non-negotiable.”
How Louisiana Killed Its Film Industry
“Louisiana’s once-booming film industry – dubbed “Hollywood South” – was off by as much as 90 per cent this past year, according to the Louisiana Film Entertainment Association. The drop is all attributed to the state’s decision to wind down its generous incentives last July, scaring off movie makers.”
NPR’s Podcast Strategy To Grow Its Audience
“The demographic that went up the most in the first quarter of 2016 was the 18 to 24 year-olds [average quarter hour listening was up 20% according to Nielsen]. To be fair, it’s not a huge audience. But I point it out because it’s the direction we want to go. It didn’t come at the expense of any of our journalism either.”
The Best Film Festival You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of
“At the 30th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna’s annual celebration of restored and rediscovered cinema, the bonus addition to the bill was not a film-maker, or a movie, but a projector. The machine in question was a British model, made in 1899, but now once again in perfect working order.”
We Three Khans: This Trio Of Superstars Has Bollywood’s Release Schedule In A Headlock
“Each dominates a different annual holiday. Shah Rukh Khan, a favourite of the middle classes, is the hero of the Diwali weekend. Aamir Khan, more highbrow, dominates Christmas.” And Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, is the territory of Salman Khan.
If ‘Game Of Thrones’ Were Real, How Long Would Cersei Be In Jail?
“That definitely puts her on the hook for felony arson and could easily be seen as an act of domestic terrorism. It’s also not a leap to consider Wildfire a weapon of mass destruction, which would put Cersei behind bars for life in California state prison.”