The Media Front
Michael Calderone On Media and Politics
Michael Calderone is Media Editor at TheWrap, overseeing coverage of the industry, and with an emphasis on the intersection of media and politics. He was most recently an editor at Vanity Fair and has reported on the media for Politico, HuffPost, and The New York Observer. He has also taught journalism courses at Princeton University and New York University.
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The Trump vs. Musk Brawl Is an Old-White-Guys Version of a ‘Real Housewives’ Catfight
The president and billionaire’s escalating social media insults have serious implications – but for now, it’s a pass-the-popcorn moment
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Columns
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FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Wages a Lonely Fight for Press Freedom in Trumpland
Facing Brendan Carr and Trump’s punitive actions against media companies, the commission’s outnumbered Democrat publicly pushes back
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Columns
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‘Mountainhead’ Packs a Sobering Warning Within Its ‘Tech Bros Gone Wild’ Satire
Director Jesse Armstrong’s Emmy-bait movie can’t match “Succession,” but its take on oligarchs, AI and disinformation feels grounded in reality
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Columns
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The Disinformation Deluge Requires Experts to Step Up as ‘Truth Vigilantes’
The right-wing tilt of online voices favors “just asking questions” quacks and self-promoters. But Media Matters’ Angelo Carusone sees ways to break through
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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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