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Da’Vine Joy Randolph On Getting Her Day At The Oscars

"Randolph doesn’t really speak Awards Season — not like the shiny glittery things who seem to have it down. Ask her how she fee-eels and the 37-year-old Oscar nominee will answer for real." - Washington Post

New York Times Culture Writers Are Still Mad At These Oscar Snubs

Many, many readers are also angry. A few things marinate on and on: Brokeback Mountain’s lack of wins, Shakespeare in Love’s wins, and some seemingly personal blows to filmlovers’ egos. - The New York Times

Have A Conversation With A New Marilyn Monroe AI Chatbot

The AI-generated Digital Marilyn chatbot lets you interact “in real-time using advanced natural language processing, deep learning and GPT 3.5,” Soul Machines said in announcing the project Friday. - Variety

Hollywood’s Rough Year, And Trends We’d Like To See

The movie industry is notorious for learning precisely the wrong lesson from its successes, not to mention failures. Here are some trends from last year that I hope to see more of. - Washington Post

The Wave Of Public Radio Layoffs Hits Colorado

The statewide network is eliminating 15 positions, some 8% of its workforce, mostly in audio and podcast production. (The newsroom is not affected.) The reason is the same as with other public radio outlets shedding staff: reduced revenue, especially from corporate advertising/sponsorships. - Inside Radio

Europe Works To Pry Open Big Tech Companies

The law essentially crowbars open what the EU calls the gatekeepers’ “core services.” In the past regulators have proposed containing corporate giants by taking them to pieces. EU lawmakers have adopted the motto “Don’t break up big tech companies, break them open.” - Wired

Anti-TikTok Legislation In Congress Has TikTok Stirring A High-Schooler Rebellion

Congressional staff reported on some of the calls they were getting. “We’re getting a lot of calls from high schoolers asking what a Congressman is. Yes really,” wrote Taylor Hulsey, communications director for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL). - Deadline

Boston NPR Station WBUR Warns Of Cash Crisis And Likely Layoffs

Though listenership and ratings are up (Nielsen reports WBUR is the top news station in its market and third overall), income from advertising and sponsorship is way, way down. - Boston Herald

Armorer In Alec Baldwin Shooting On Set Of “Rust” Convicted Of Involuntary Manslaughter

"The verdict against movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed assigned new blame in the October 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after an assistant director last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm." She was acquitted of a charge of evidence-tampering. - AP

Netflix Is Back On Top. How?

How did Netflix defend its bulwark when there are still multiple streaming services fighting for eyeballs? - Los Angeles Times

How Schoenberg’s Ideas About Music Shaped Movies

Film composers have taken up serialism as an important technique, employing this to yield a high degree of dissonance and ethereal sounds. - The Conversation

How American Outsider In Popular Media Shaped Our Culture

As we entered the new millennium, three daring TV series remade the television landscape, and they all featured a new breed of outsider: lawless, desperate, violent characters once unimaginable on the small screens in our living rooms. - LitHub

Thirty Years After The Fall Of Apartheid, South Africa’s Film & TV Industry Is Still Looking For Its Identity

"On the surface, there is much reason to cheer. No country on the continent has benefited as much from the disruption of global streaming platforms as South Africa, where competition between Netflix and homegrown rival Showmax has fueled a surge in production." - Variety

The Academy Awards And U.S. Elections Need The Same Voting Reform

In fact, this reform is already in place in Maine, Alaska, New York City, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities — and in the Best Picture category. It simply needs to be extended to the other categories and to other locales. - Literary Hub

Here’s What Happened When Chicago’s Public Radio Merged With The Sun-Times Newspaper

Now deep into the five-year grant, the combined newsrooms reach 2.8 million readers and listeners; newsletter subscriptions total 760,500; and the Sun-Times’ pageviews increased 55% over the past year. Staff sizes also have grown — crucial to producing more content — as have staff compensation and diversity. - NiemanLab

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