The Media Front
Brian Lowry On Media and Politics
Brian Lowry is the Media Editor at TheWrap, writing about media and its intersection with politics. He is a veteran media and television columnist, critic and reporter, with eight years at CNN as a columnist and critic. Before that he was chief TV critic at Variety and a reporter columnist covering television for the Los Angeles Times.
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From ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ to ‘The Walking Dead,’ Series Finales Don’t Feel Very Final
The urge to keep valuable franchises alive risks robbing loyal viewers of the closure they seek
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The Media Front
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‘Pee-wee as Himself’ Sets a High Bar for the Celebrity Exit Interview
Paul Reubens knew he was dying when he opened up for an HBO documentary, joining public figures who have left a record behind as the end nears
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The Media Front
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Diddy to Weinstein to Lively-Baldoni: Sensational Trials Find New Audiences in the Influencer Age
A crush of buzzy cases illustrate how courtroom coverage has changed now that everyone can act like they’re in the jury box
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The Media Front
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For CBS and ‘60 Minutes,’ It’s a Slow-Motion Saturday Night Massacre
The resignation of CBS News chief Wendy McMahon continues the exodus as parent Paramount faces a seemingly no-win scenario in trying to mollify Trump
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The Media Front
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At the Upfronts, It’s Sports Here, Sports There, Sports Just About Everywhere
Hanging by a thread, linear TV uses sports as a lifeline, while streaming keeps muscling in on the action
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The Media Front
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‘Mission: Impossible’ Is the Perfect Symbol for Paramount’s Impossible Mission
Shari Redstone faces the seemingly no-win choice of saving the Skydance merger or standing behind “60 Minutes.” But she’s not the villain in this story
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The Media Front
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With Film Tariff Threat, Trump Takes Hollywood for a Ride on the ‘Tweet Now, Think Later’ Train
The frenzy caused by the president’s social media posts gave studios a crash course in his carousel of news-cycle craziness
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The Media Front
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The Upfronts: How TV’s Big Week Evolved From Chess Match to WWE Free For All
Networks still talk about things like “audience flow,” but linear TV priorities have faded from the day when scheduling moves could elicit gasps and buzz
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Column
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CNN’s Noisy ‘NewsNight’ Shows Why Staking Out the Middle Is So Hard for Media
The squabbling panel show lives most robustly in social media, but its “Crossfire”-like partisan talk often feels more like verbal wrestling than enlightened debate
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Column
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Does ‘Sinners’ Box Office Coverage Make the Case for Media Diversity?
News outlets that appeared to downplay the film were channeling their sources, but they may have revealed blind spots when it comes to Black-centered movies
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The Media Front
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Muzzling Big Bird: Trump Tries to Silence the ‘Liberal Media’ of PBS and NPR
The executive order defunding these publicly funded outlets may not pass legal muster, but it reflects Trump’s habit of pivoting to culture-war issues when under pressure
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Column
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ABC’s Terry Moran and the Trump Interview: 5 Do’s and Don’ts for Battling Lies and Deflections
Marking 100 days, ABC’s Terry Moran ran into the brick wall that has flummoxed TV interviewers since Trump entered the political arena
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The Media Front
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‘60 Minutes’ vs. a Corporate Merger? You’ve Seen This Movie Before – in ‘The Insider’
In key ways, the resignation of EP Bill Owens mirrors the 30-year-old scenario portrayed in the 1999 Michael Mann thriller
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The Media Front
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For Media CEOs in the News Business, Trump Turns M&A Dreams Into a Quid Pro Quo
Pressure on Paramount over “60 Minutes” could preview deal-making challenges for other studios like WBD and Comcast
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The Media Front
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How George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars’ Prequels Unexpectedly Saw the Future
As “Revenge of the Sith” hits 20, its much-derided emphasis on trade wars and the mechanics of a crumbling republic might deserve an apology today
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The Media Front
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