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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‘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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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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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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Columns
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With His ’60 Minutes’ Coup, Trump Sends a Not-So-Subtle Message to the Press
The resignation of producer Bill Owens could send a chill through other news outlets, even if CBS was uniquely vulnerable
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Columns
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