Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith and media: 10/30/20
A blast from my past. I got my start in media in the early nineties by creating a cable access show called Headliners. It featured a McLaughlin Group-style panel of comedians talking about the news stories of the week. It was an original concept for its time and actually preceded the similar Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher that premiered on Comedy Central in 1993 and moved to ABC in 1997 (before morphing in Real Time on HBO in 2003). Anyway, we would end with a segment in which our panelists each chose an Overlooked Story of the Week (i.e. items that the mainstream media either neglected or refused to give the coverage they deserved). If Headliners were to be revived today (which, BTW, isn’t a bad idea), here are some of the stories I think would make the cut for the segment this week.
From The Hollywood Reporter: Tucker Carlson Tonight drew 6.32 million viewers for Fox News, topping 6 million for the third consecutive night. Hannity (5.82 million) and The Ingraham Angle (4.64 million) also led their respective hours as Fox News was the most watched network, broadcast or cable, in primetime.
IMHO: That’s pretty amazing – and probably explainable by the fact that Fox News is the only major TV news outlet that isn’t virtually blacking out the other stories on this list.
From The New York Post: The FBI has reportedly been investigating Hunter Biden and his business associates over allegations of money-laundering since 2019.
IMHO: You don’t exactly have to be a political partisan to know in your bones that this story would take up a good chunk of the CBS This Morning Eye Opener (as well as every network and cable newscast) if you substituted Hunter Biden’s name with Donald Trump, Jr.
From The Wrap: Glenn Greenwald said on Thursday that he has resigned from The Intercept, the online publication he co-founded in 2014, claiming that editors “censored” an article about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that he said “raised critical questions about Biden’s conduct.”
IMHO: Consider this Exhibit A that the TV blackout extends online, as well as throughout traditional and social media. Greenwald, after all, is hardly a GOP hack. Neither am I, BTW. But I know a threat to free speech when I see one.
From USA Today: A tweet by the Girl Scouts congratulating new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett drew such outrage from Barrett’s critics that the youth organization swiftly deleted it – only to draw a new backlash from Barrett’s supporters. The original tweet, posted Wednesday evening, said, “Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789.”
IMHO: So this is where we are in 2020 – sad and alarming.
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Arriba con el amor! or Up with love! UP Entertainment has launched Cine Romántico in partnership with PixL Dos. Targeted to Spanish speaking television viewers and dual language households, Cine Romántico features the best of Hollywood TV romance movies exclusively in Spanish. The free ad-supported television (FAST) channel is now available on Samsung TV Plus and XUMO with plans to expand to other platforms in the future. Samsung TV Plus is available on select Samsung Smart TVs and eligible Galaxy mobile devices and delivers instant access to 145 free channels without a subscription.
“UP Entertainment is thrilled to partner with PixL Dos to launch Cine Romántico on Samsung TV Plus and XUMO,” says company founder and CEO Charley Humbard, adding “We look forward to introducing a new audience to this streaming channel featuring entertaining high-quality romance movies that Spanish language households are sure to love.”
With a vast array of star-driven movies featuring contemporary storylines, some of titles on the service include Brimming with Love, Love Throws a Curve, Hopeless Romantic, Groomzilla, Instant Nanny and The Wedding Do-Over. New titles will be added on an ongoing basis.
UP Entertainment holdings include the faith and family-friendly cable channels UPtv and AspireTV , as well as the streamer UP Faith & Family.
PixL Dos is a subsidiary of PixL Entertainment.
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