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Berlin Taxi Drivers Put On A Makeshift Film Festival In The Backs Of Their Cabs

The TaxiFilmFest is in part a protest against the august Berlin Film Festival, currently in full swing, which signed an exclusive agreement with Uber to ferry participants between cinemas. But it's also a celebration of "the taxicab's iconic place in the urban landscape." - The New York Times

AM Radio Is Dying. Bernie Sanders And Ted Cruz Want To Save It

According to Ford’s internal data gathered from some of its newer vehicles, less than 5 percent of all in-car listening is to AM radio. Which is perhaps why Ford decided last year to drop AM from all of its vehicles, not just EVs. - The Atlantic

TV Industry Contracts And Talent Scrambles For Jobs

On top of fewer shows and virtually no pilots, the available acting gigs pay less than they used to amid rising cost of living, talent sources say. - Deadline

Why The Village Voice Worked

People showed up straight from college, because working at the Voice had always been their dream, despite substandard wages and word rates, paltry expense budgets, and barely habitable offices. - Village Voice

The Alabama Radio Station Whose 200-Foot Transmission Tower Was Stolen Is Back On The Air

WJLX (1240 AM) in Jasper has an FM-frequency repeater, but without the AM station's tower providing the original signal and programming, the repeater was useless. Then an exec from the country's largest radio broadcaster, iHeartMedia, came to the rescue, offering use of the HD3 signal from WDXB in Birmingham. - Inside Radio

This Upstart Has Surpassed Netflix To Become Africa’s Number-One Streamer

"Showmax — (a South African company) spun out of Africa’s largest entertainment (conglomerate), MultiChoice, in 2015 — had 2.1 million subscribers on the continent at the end of November 2023, as compared to 1.8 million for Netflix. … Showmax’s market share rose to nearly 39%, while Netflix dropped to 33.5%." - Rest of World

Inside The Rural Alabama Radio Station Whose Entire Transmission Tower Was Stolen

"Many in Jasper, a city of about 14,000 (located) 40 miles northwest of Birmingham, fear the culprits have taken more than a heap of steel. Listeners describe WJLX as a trusted source …, breaking through the noise of a cluttered (media) landscape ... with something that felt distinctly theirs." - The New York Times

Comcast And Paramount Talk About Combining Peacock And Paramount+ Into A Package

Along with making access to the two platforms comparatively cheaper than buying separate subscriptions, the partnership would help Comcast and Paramount “produce significant cost savings — from spending on programming to marketing.” - The Verge

Miyazaki Won In London, But At The Annies, It’s All Spidey

The Annies hand out prizes in animation for series and film - and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse cleaned up, beating The Boy and the Heron to best picture and winning six other awards. - Los Angeles Times

This Year’s New Hollywood A-Lister Is A Real Dog

That star is Messi - not the soccer player, but the border collie who won the Palme Dog at Cannes. - The Guardian (UK)

The BAFTAs, Including Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s British Acting Roots

Randolph started her career in London’s West End. After she won her BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Holdovers, she said backstage, “You guys taught me the classics, and I'm obsessed with Pinter and all that stuff." - BBC

All Of The BAFTAs, As They Happen

A live feed mixing fashion commentary and media reporting, the way the internet was intended to give us our awards news. - The Guardian (UK)

Turns Out Live TV Isn’t Dead

And it can thank streaming for that: "With streamers raising prices and adding commercials, maybe the urgency of watching something as it’s happening has the juice to bring people back to broadcast.” - Wired

The BAFTAs Have Never Awarded A Black Woman With The Best Actress Award

That seems unlikely to change this year either, despite the nominations of Vivian Oparah for the charming Rye Lane and Fantasia Barrino in the new musical movie version of The Color Purple. "The question of how to address the UK’s persistent issue with embracing diverse performers remains unanswered.” - Variety

Kansas Senate Cancels Public Broadcasting Funding Cut After Embarrassment

Republican senators objected to an LGBTQ documentary. - Current

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