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Norman Lear, Now 100, Says Maude Is The Character Who’s Most Like Him

"I thought of Maude as a horseshit liberal. She was altogether liberal, but she knew far less than she should know to support her point of view. I felt that way about myself."  And he says that, 50 years after it aired, he could do the abortion episode the same way today. - The Hollywood Reporter

Southwest Virginia Has No PBS Station. It’s Getting One Next Year, All-Digital

PBS Appalachia Virginia, a streaming service operated by Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, will have dedicated staff and studios in Abingdon producing local programming.  One of the biggest challenges will be helping get better broadband service to the mountainous and rural area. - Current

Sundance’s Next Leader

Hernandez, who currently serves as the senior vice president of Film at Lincoln Center, the executive director of the New York Film Festival and the publisher of Film Comment, will join the Sundance Institute’s leadership team in November, upon conclusion of the New York festival. - The New York Times

World’s Second-Biggest Movie Theater Chain Files For Bankruptcy

Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas in the US and Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US federal court in Houston.  The company will continue operations and expects to be reorganized by early next year. - AP

What’s Behind An Exodus Of BBC Hosts?

"A big one that we've seen in recent months and years is reorganisation at the BBC, particularly in the newsroom. A lot of that is driven by the need to reduce costs, and therefore a lot of people have simply taken voluntary redundancy (VR) and left by choice." - BBC

Saudis And Gulf Kingdoms To Netflix: Remove All “Offensive Content”

"A joint statement issued on behalf of ... the Gulf Cooperation Council made the request, saying the unspecified programs 'contradict Islamic and societal values ​​and principles.'"  This evidently refers to depictions of LGBTQ people: Saudi TV aired a "behavioral consultant" calling Netflix an "official sponsor of homosexuality." - AP

A Better Summer For Movies. But The Outlook Is Bleak

Almost everyone agrees that the 117-year-old movie exhibition business cannot keep going like this. But hardly anybody agrees on precisely the best way forward. - The New York Times

The Marilyn Monroe Biopic And The Murkiness Of The Dreaded NC-17 Rating

Even if a director wanted to edit their movie to please ratings royalty, the MPAA’s murky machinations could make it hard for her to determine what to carve out. The aversion to the rating is so strong that a search for films that kept their NC-17 rating and played in theaters yields just 40 titles. - The Daily Beast

Before The Algorithms Took Over: YouTube’s “Coolhunters”

A journalist, a radio DJ, and actual YouTubers were brought in as editors to sift through content, finding gems that viewers might love. Officially, these team members were called “community managers.” But a colleague devised a more resonant title for the team: the coolhunters. - The Atlantic

The Movement For Gender-Neutral Acting Awards Is Picking Up Steam.  Will The Big Flagship Awards Follow?

"Two more awards shows went gender neutral last week, fueling further speculation about the day when major awards shows — think Oscars, Emmys and (yes) Golden Globes — might follow suit and drop the distinction between 'actor' and 'actress' in their respective competitions." - Variety

Are Public Radio Listeners Cooling On Podcasts?

While podcast consumption is holding steady overall among public radio fans, Jacobs Media's just-released Public Radio Techsurvey 2022 shows some warning signs for public media that their audience may be “cooling” on podcasts. - Inside Radio

AI-Powered Black Rappers? Created By White Designers? See The Problem?

This isn’t to say that white creators ought not create Black characters at all, but that there is something particularly gut-wrenching about the artificial fabrication of Black entertainers. - The Guardian

Meet The Longest-Working Black Director In History

After starting out in New York theater, Michael Schultz directed the classic PBS documentary To Be Young, Gifted and Black and made over a dozen films in the '70s and '80s, including Cooley High and Krush Groove. Now 83, he's worked steadily in television ever since. - The New York Times

Europe’s Film Industry Steps up To Support Its Ukrainian Colleagues

Since the domestic Ukrainian market is in, er, a difficult spot just now, there's a raft of initiatives to aid Ukrainian creators with grants for script development, education on post-production techniques and marketing, and buying or co-producing Ukrainian content for the likes of the BBC and Netflix. - The Hollywood Reporter

Public Radio Expands To Urban Alternative Format

Aiming to bring younger and more ethnically diverse listeners to public radio, the urban alternative format has spread to cities from Denver to Milwaukee, thanks to financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. - Inside Radio

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