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Tensions Seethe Inside America’s Biggest Public Radio Station

"Employees at are terrified that criticizing their station's leadership could result in being singled out for layoffs and reprimands by human resources." Employees express particular concern about editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper, hired away from The San Francisco Chronicle one year ago this month. Says one staffer, "I can't remember a time when newsroom morale has been lower." - The...

How Many Streaming Services Can One Person Be Expected To Pay For? We’re Starting To Find That Out

"The average number of video streaming services utilized per U.S. user has fallen for the first time, according to technology research firm Omdia. … 'In the past, many have posited an ultimate limit to the number of services a consumer will be able to manage,' Omdia highlighted. 'With U.S. growth stumbling, many will be asking if seven is the...

Copyright Board Changes Streaming Fees

CRB hiked the current rate 17% from the current $0.18 for every 100 songs streamed on on-subscription advertising-supported webcasts to $0.21. - Inside Radio

Revenue From NPR’s Podcasts Just Keeps Rising And Rising

"From 2015 to 2019 US-based National Public Radio saw its podcasting revenue grow ten-fold. Things were tougher last year due to the pandemic, though NPR still managed a small amount of growth, but it's now bouncing back big time," with an estimated rise of 30% from last year. - World Association of News Publishers

How Did US Public Broadcasting Become The Institution It Is? It Sure Wasn’t Easy

"As self-evident and uncontroversial as the belief in equal access to information sounds within the noncommercial media sector itself, politically the concept always faced resistance. … Fast forward to 2021, and the origin of public broadcasting looks something like a social movement." - Current

“In The Heights” Was Hyped As Summer’s First Hit. Opening Box Office Says Nope

The Warner Bros. musical generated a wane $11.4 million from 3,456 U.S. theaters in its first four days of release, below earlier expectations suggesting the feel-good film would reach $20 million. - Variety

Envisioning A Kinder, More Beautiful Apocalypse

Filmmaker Jim Mickle: "I started asking questions like, 'What if you could make an apocalyptic story where you actually want to go to that world?' What does that look like? And you start asking, 'What happens if humans just disappear for 10 years and nature is suddenly allowed to thrive?' It would probably be one of the most beautiful...

Trying To Replicate An Unexpected, Grand Success

That's what season 2 - and sophomore novels - are all about. Overwhelming numbers for a TV series or book can scare artists off. So what's going to happen in series 2 of Lupin? - The New York Times

When A Movie Understands A Generational Dilemma

In the Heights might have opened to disappointing box office numbers this weekend, but those who did see it had the chance to learn about second-generation immigrants' dreams - and, through an elderly character, reality. "The classic peril of assimilation in America is that a perceived greater belonging demands a partial loss of self," but Abuela Claudia's character offers...

The Next Streaming Wars Are Coming

Coming to those who are interested in Spanish-language media, to be a little more precise. Disney, Netflix, and Warner Media, and Univision all have a piece of the pie - and are tugging, hard. "It’s easy to see why streamers and studios see a gold mine. Latinos consistently accounted for a disproportionate amount of moviegoing before the pandemic, yet...

Food Travel Shows Desperately Need New Gatekeepers

Take Netflix's new High on the Hog as an example: "The narrative about Black food is often one of resilience—a history of dishes and cooking passed down from one generation to the next as Black people survived subpar and inhumane conditions. While part of that is true, High on the Hog is not afraid to complicate that narrative by reconsidering Black...

Riz Ahmed Wants Far More, And Far Better, Muslim Rep In Hollywood

And it's not just Hollywood. In recent USC study, the researchers "combed through 200 popular films from the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand from 2017 to 2019. They found that only six of them had a Muslim in a co-leading role, and only one of those was female. Of the nearly 9,000 speaking parts, fewer than two...

Kids Was An Amazing Film – That Ruined Its Subjects’ Lives

When Kids came out in 1995, it won awards, had incredible box-office success for a film so raunchy, and essentially took the film world by storm. But "the film’s legacy is more complicated. Many of the young men and women ... tapped to play key roles struggled to find work after the film premiered, and grew frustrated that they’d...

Keeping It Real – And Dreamy Too

To make In the Heights work as a movie, the playwright and scriptwriter Quiera Alegría Hudes had to make painful cuts, and so did songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. How to keep it faithful to the feel of the stage show? Director Jon Chu: "What they had created is not just a show. It is a life force." - The New...

HBO Max Walks A Tightrope Of Media Rights

Success in streaming, as Netflix has shown, ultimately requires reaching subscribers in every corner of the planet. But taking a streaming service around the world is complicated and expensive. It involves creating locally-sourced shows in multiple languages and navigating regions that don’t have reliable broadband or many consumers with credit cards. For HBO Max, it also means deciding when...

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