The Wasteland:
Television is a gold goose that lays scrambled eggs;
and it is futile and probably fatal to beat it for not laying caviar.
Lee Loevinger
When people argue over the quality of television programming, both sides — it’s addictive crap v. underappreciated populist art — seem to forget one of the essentials about commercial TV. By definition, it is not a public service. It is not commercial TV’s job to enlighten, inform, educate, elevate, inspire, or offer insight. Frankly, it’s not even commercial TV’s job to entertain. Bottom line: its purpose is simply to deliver as many sets of eyes to advertisers as possible. As it happens, it tends to do this by offering various forms of entertainment, and occasionally by offering content that does enlighten, inform, etc., but a cynic would make the point that if TV could do the same job televising fish aimlessly swimming around an aquarium,...
Television is a gold goose that lays scrambled eggs;
and it is futile and probably fatal to beat it for not laying caviar.
Lee Loevinger
When people argue over the quality of television programming, both sides — it’s addictive crap v. underappreciated populist art — seem to forget one of the essentials about commercial TV. By definition, it is not a public service. It is not commercial TV’s job to enlighten, inform, educate, elevate, inspire, or offer insight. Frankly, it’s not even commercial TV’s job to entertain. Bottom line: its purpose is simply to deliver as many sets of eyes to advertisers as possible. As it happens, it tends to do this by offering various forms of entertainment, and occasionally by offering content that does enlighten, inform, etc., but a cynic would make the point that if TV could do the same job televising fish aimlessly swimming around an aquarium,...
- 7/22/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
From 1978 until last month, Andy Rooney, who has died aged 92, regularly occupied the last minutes of the CBS Sunday evening show 60 Minutes. Wry, often tart, sometimes combative and always beguiling, he presented a miniature essay on a topic of his choice. The programme's phenomenal audience figures in the Us and around the world made him one of the best known news commentators, even though his segment was only – to borrow its name – A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney.
Staring out from under a wiry thicket of eyebrows, he would rummage in his desk drawer and comment caustically on its contents, compare the shrinking quantities of coffee tins, ruminate on the existence of God – he was an agnostic – or mock the absurdities of the politically correct. His liberal tendencies brought enmity from the right, but his stalwart, old-fashioned values sometimes...
Staring out from under a wiry thicket of eyebrows, he would rummage in his desk drawer and comment caustically on its contents, compare the shrinking quantities of coffee tins, ruminate on the existence of God – he was an agnostic – or mock the absurdities of the politically correct. His liberal tendencies brought enmity from the right, but his stalwart, old-fashioned values sometimes...
- 11/6/2011
- by Christopher Reed
- The Guardian - Film News
AP Andy Rooney during his last regular appearance on “60 Minutes” earlier this year.
Andy Rooney, who entertained and informed millions as an essayist on “60 Minutes,” has died. He was 92 years old.
The veteran TV newsman signed off “60 Minutes” in early October by stating he would never stop writing. Three weeks after his final on-air essay on “60 Minutes,” he was hospitalized following what CBS News called “serious complications” from minor surgery.
Rooney began his run on “60 Minutes” in July of 1978, and...
Andy Rooney, who entertained and informed millions as an essayist on “60 Minutes,” has died. He was 92 years old.
The veteran TV newsman signed off “60 Minutes” in early October by stating he would never stop writing. Three weeks after his final on-air essay on “60 Minutes,” he was hospitalized following what CBS News called “serious complications” from minor surgery.
Rooney began his run on “60 Minutes” in July of 1978, and...
- 11/5/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
AP File photo of Andy Rooney
Veteran commentator Andy Rooney is stepping down from his role at “60 Minutes.”
Rooney, 92, began his run on the show in July of 1978, and became a fixture on the program that fall.
Rooney has become known for his folksy, often curmudgeonly, TV essays on life, culture and news events.
In Rooney’s book “Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit,” he wrote “The process by which each of us acquires a reputation isn’t independent of our character.
Veteran commentator Andy Rooney is stepping down from his role at “60 Minutes.”
Rooney, 92, began his run on the show in July of 1978, and became a fixture on the program that fall.
Rooney has become known for his folksy, often curmudgeonly, TV essays on life, culture and news events.
In Rooney’s book “Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit,” he wrote “The process by which each of us acquires a reputation isn’t independent of our character.
- 9/27/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Country singer Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in 1963, but her legend lives on, and she still has droves of die-hard fans nearly 50 years later. Fans regularly drive by the house where she once lived in Winchester, Virginia -- but now, the site will be open to more than just a drive-by viewing.
On August 2, the Patsy Cline Historic House will open its doors to her adoring public. Cline, who was born Virginia Patterson Hensley and known as "Ginny" to friends and family, lived at 608 Kent St. from her mid-teens to her mid-20s as she rose to country stardom.
After Cline's parents divorced, she and her mother and siblings moved into the house in 1948. She would live in the house -- which her mother rented at first and later bought -- until 1957, aside from the duration of her short-lived marriage to Gerald Cline.
According to The Washington Post,...
On August 2, the Patsy Cline Historic House will open its doors to her adoring public. Cline, who was born Virginia Patterson Hensley and known as "Ginny" to friends and family, lived at 608 Kent St. from her mid-teens to her mid-20s as she rose to country stardom.
After Cline's parents divorced, she and her mother and siblings moved into the house in 1948. She would live in the house -- which her mother rented at first and later bought -- until 1957, aside from the duration of her short-lived marriage to Gerald Cline.
According to The Washington Post,...
- 7/28/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Last week, Bravo finally revealed the cast of the highly anticipated new entry in their Real Housewives franchise and since TVOvermind will start covering the series this summer, it's about time that you guys meet the first ladies of Capital Hill. But first, here is some background drama on the casting of the show to whet the appetite for what's to come.
The drama started back in May of last year when Bravo announced that the Real Housewives franchise was heading to D.C. The local and top political papers in the nation all initiated in the guessing game on which of the top movers and shakers in D.C. would have their lives documented for all to see. Some reports got one or two of the cast members correct, while others were nowhere near accurate in their assumptions. But one name stuck out amongst a lot of the trades...
The drama started back in May of last year when Bravo announced that the Real Housewives franchise was heading to D.C. The local and top political papers in the nation all initiated in the guessing game on which of the top movers and shakers in D.C. would have their lives documented for all to see. Some reports got one or two of the cast members correct, while others were nowhere near accurate in their assumptions. But one name stuck out amongst a lot of the trades...
- 6/22/2010
- by Mark O. Estes
- TVovermind.com
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