NPR Gets Its First TV Critic: Eric Deggans

Tampa Bay Times media critic moves to radio

NPR has tapped Eric Deggans as the radio networks' first TV critic, hiring him away from the Tampa Bay Times after an 18-year run there.

"There is no way to sum up how amazing my time has been here at the newspaper in a few words typed on a blog," Deggans wrote. "But I’ll try for better language when I write my last column for the newspaper a few months from now, charting my progress from an enthusiastic kid who loved writing about pop music to a television critic, media critic, editorial writer, social issues columnist and social media addict all in one."

Also read: NPR Ending 'Talk of the Nation'

Deputy managing editor Jeanne Grinstead added that she would "miss his sensitivity and fearless voice."

Deggans' first book, Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, was published in 2012. He'll start at NPR in October.

Comments