Category: media

“Bill Moyers has notified public television stations that his weekly series Moyers & Company will end after the Jan. 2 program. He made a similar announcement last October, but changed his mind in the face of an outpouring of support from his fans on social media. This time, however, “it’s the real deal’.”

“Net neutrality is about how access to our society’s living archive should be governed. Do we want monied interests to be making that decision, or us, the users? The value of the web is how easy it is to share with anyone what we make; whether it’s a business, an artwork, or academic research.”

“The departure of Chris Fujiwara has left the event facing a race against time to find a replacement after the Japanese-American author and critic decided to leave with another year left on his contract.”

“Like other online video services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle and YouTube, Amazon has been investing heavily in original programming to grab some business from traditional networks and cable channels.”

Despite opposition from French telecom providers worried about competition l’exception culturelle, Netflix began service in France this week, with Germany and Belgium being added later this month. The company has a partnership with one large French ISP (Bouygues) and has already commissioned one original French series.

“No one, to my knowledge, has ever seen the film the way I see it. The interpretation of what it’s all about has never been my interpretation.” (But what’s scary: “I love the world of Eraserhead. I would love to live in that world.”)

“On the one hand there’s tremendous possibility, but the challenge is to maintain the artistry and craftsmanship. Once everything is in focus it requires a lot more staging, and a lot more sophistication in visual effects, and more attention to prop work, set design, and costuming.”

“Female creators, executive producers, producers, directors, writers, editors and directors of photography working on prime-time television airing on broadcast networks account for 27% of individuals working behind the scenes.”

“Pop culture is a relentless machine of newness and manufactured surprise. We queue around the block for new comic-book-movie installments and crash HBO Go to watch season finales. … Why do we spend so much time with stories whose endings we already know?” Derek Thompson lays out four reasons.

Actors are turning in good, even great performances, but they can’t rescue mediocre films. Dear 2014: When will your movies get better?