The Evening Paper - Media, Culture and the Modern Condition

Cable news isn’t dead. In fact they’re watched by millions daily. But the trench warfare between the three big networks: 

Fox News on the right, MSNBC on the left and CNN who specializes in panic with lefty sensibilities; is opening opportunities and audiences for outlets like the Hill and its youtube hit rising. 

Rising is hosted by former MSNBC host Krystal Ball, a progressive whose failed congressional race brought her prominence a decade ago and Saagar (N-jetty) a conservative reporter and pundit. The Hill says it reaches 600 thousand people a week.

The appeal of rising is not new, though.

The production carries all the hallmarks of cable news down to its set and theme music. And to my eye the show is a child of two legacy shows: CNN’s crossfire mixed with ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.

On crossfire, an earlier incarnation of Tucker Carlson and other right wing hosts from the right jousted with James Carville and other Clinton era liberals about the news of the day. 

The first incarnation of that show lasted twenty years until former daily show host Jon Stewart went on the show and pointed out its cartoonish political balkanization. 

Rising strips away that balkanization. On rising, being liberal doesn’t mean that conservatives are your enemy or vice versa. 

Saagar and Krystal slide from agreement to disagreement and back again with ease much like PTI’s Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. 

Saagar and Krystal also share another element with Wilbon and Kornheiser. They come off as friends with different point of views who hate hypocrisy even if it comes from their own political team. 

Take this exchange between Saagar and Krystal about the inaction of congress and president trump about the financial crisis caused by the covid 19 pandemic.

There’s no doubt that in time cable news will attempt to duplicate Rising. But this type of nuanced, well thought  out analysis will be blunted by any cable news based ecosystem. And it’ll be drowned by the soundbytes and all the shouting.

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Journalist James Brown and music writer Saby Reyes-Kulkarni discuss the NFL's approach to the coronavirus pandemic. 

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Journalist James Brown and writer Saby Reyes-Kulkarni discuss the adjustments, high points and pitfalls of working from home during the pandemic.   

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Journalists James Brown and Saby Reyes-Kulkarni talk about which businesses rise and fall during the coronavirus pandemic.

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In a seismic move in both the podcast and YouTube worlds, The Joe Rogan Experience is moving to Spotify exclusively. The Wall Street Journal says its 100 million dollar deal.

One of the most popular podcast players on the Google Play store, Podcast Addict, has been suspended because some of its podcasts it lists reference the coronavirus in ways that are different than public health organizations.

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AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson's massive retirement plan.

Meet the Press Moderator Chuck Todd apologizes for analyzing comments from Attorney General Bill Barr out of context

ESPN gets a big payday from UFC 249

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Cuts are coming to NPR Michael Che does a good deed Chris Cuomo hates his job but he’s staying Cris Collinsworth isn’t retiring but NBC already knows what’s next

Find James on social at: http://www.twitter.com/jamesbrowntv https://www.facebook.com/jamesbrowntv/ http://www.alittleskeptical.com

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James and writer Saby Reyes-Kulkarni discuss their worst fears and highest hopes about the coronavirus and talk sports media including why Saby thinks ESPN is purposely making baseball less popular. 

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Televangelist Jim Bakker was selling a coronavirus cure, until New York Attorney General Tish James stop it.. The state gave Bakker 10 days to comply with a cease-and-desist letter

On Feb. 12 episode of his show he claimed a Silver Solution sold on his website would be a preventative against the coronavirus.

And more recently John Oliver lampooned him for it Last Week Tonight

The Silver Solution products were on sale for more than $125 a bottle.

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Rapper M-I-A has launched her own Patreon. That's the service that allows fans to pay monthly or or per project for mostly internet based content. The multi platinum selling star is latest artist with a major record contract to join the platform known as a major revenue source for podcasters, bloggers and youtubers.

In her video introduction to the project she said she wanted a closer relationship with her fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t13OT5UqXpQ

The brit says she’ll be documenting the creation of a new album and her and world travels along with providing exclusive artwork, and live streams for her subscribers.

Singers Ben Folds, Cautious Clay and Jacob Collier joined Patreon in the past year. As surprising as it seems that established acts are joining it shouldn’t been. 

The platform’s root come from Jack Conte, one-half of the band Pomplamoose (who rose to fame on YouTube). Conte created Patreon in 2013.

In his ted talk, he slammed the structure that the music business uses to play artists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQ3C_VanaU&t=183s

Conte’s dream has scaled gaining an increasing amount of mainstream success. 

In November, Patreon announced that its global network of creators have earned more than $1 billion on Patreon, with the support of over 4 million patrons.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/m-i-a-patreon-account-945808/

https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/mia-launches-patreon-live-streams-behind-the-scenes.html

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8549946/mia-launches-patreon-subscription-page-exclusive-videos-artwork

https://musically.com/2019/11/08/music-crowdfunding-effective-not-begging-ari-herstand/

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