The Return of TV MoJoe

 ….and we’re back.

 

The blog you’re reading is brand new to TheWrap– but in spirit, at least, it’s a bit more established. Just a bit.

 

TV MoJoe actually launched in April over at my old home, TVWeek.com. I left the esteemed Crain Communications digital publication last month, so both I and the blog have been on hiatus for the past few weeks.

The formal MoJoe mission remains fundamentally the same as when I started the blog: To try to make some sense of the cluttered, crisis-filled television universe. I hope that posts here will, at least some of the time, attempt to go beyond the headlines of the moment and explore the bigger picture of what’s happening in the TV business right now.

 

I’d also like MoJoe to be a place where the people who make, program, sell or simply watch television programming can find some love. As I wrote in my first post on TVWeek, the intent is to "provide a place where the creators and overseers of TV content can talk about their craft."

 

Where MoJoe 2.0 will differ a bit from the original version is in the amount of breaking news on the blog. Turns out Willy Loman was right: When it comes to feeding the best, attention must be paid.

 

Finally, since many of you may have no clue who I am, here are five random factoids about your blogger:

 

1. I’ve been lucky enough to cover TV for my entire professional career, about 18 years now. The downside of such a tenure, of course, is that I’m slightly divorced from reality. Hazard of the gig.

 

2. I’m a Jew. Now, I know you might be thinking, what the heck does my religious heritage have to do with anything?

 

Well, really, nothing. But because I have an Armenian last name (which comes from my dad, who converted to Judaism, by the way), many folks in this town are constantly amazed when I tell them I’m part of the tribe.

 

I don’t want anyone to ever think I’m not proud of my Jewish roots. Plus, if there is some sort of secret Hollywood society of the Jews… I want in!

 

3. I don’t do snark. At least not often. And quite frankly, not very well. Which leads to fun fact number four….

 

4. I am an unapologetic fan of the medium I cover.

 

Whether it’s the operatic beauty of a multilayered scripted drama such as "Lost," or the sugar rush that comes from the mind candy that is "Big Brother," I believe television is still far and away our culture’s dominant– and most interesting– form of artistic expression.

 

It’s no surprise to me that the year’s best live-action movie– "Star Trek"– was overseen by a TV guy (J.J. Abrams).

 

And yet there’s a difference between being a fan and a booster. I’m also a proponent of tough love: When someone you love is acting in a self-destructive manner, being honest is generally the best course of action.

 

That doesn’t mean you always have to marinate said truth in sarcasm and self-righteousness in order to make your point.

 

5. I’ve been on Twitter for more than a year. You can follow me via @TVMoJoe. I also have a Facebook account– but I’ve never logged into it, nor have I accepted any friend requests. Twitter is awesome. Facebook still creeps me out a little.

Anyway, enough navel-gazing and self-involved rambling… for today.

 

Thanks for browsing TV MoJoe on TheWrap– and please know that tips, advice and "Big Brother" live feed updates are always welcome.

 

My email: joe@thewrap.com. Don’t be a stranger.

 

 

 

 

 

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