Medium Cool: The Television Critics Conference

Television critics gather twice yearly at press conferences to interview TV industry leaders and talent, generating coverage that shapes public perception of television programming. This book provides an insider's account of these influential gatherings, based on extensive participation by longtime Washington Post critic Tom Shales. The narrative follows specific conferences and encounters between critics and television personalities from the 1970s through the 1990s. Through transcripts, personal observations, and analysis, Shales reconstructs key moments that impacted both television journalism and the medium itself. Key players like network executives, showrunners, actors and other industry figures appear throughout, revealing the complex dynamics between those who create television content and those who evaluate it professionally. The book documents both contentious exchanges and productive dialogue between these sometimes-oppositional forces. The work ultimately explores themes of power, influence, and responsibility in television criticism, while examining how the relationship between critics and creators helps shape American popular culture.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Tom Shales's overall work: Readers appreciate Shales' insider access and depth of reporting in "Live From New York," praising his ability to weave together diverse perspectives from SNL cast and crew. Many readers note his skill at capturing authentic voices and behind-the-scenes dynamics. On Goodreads, one reader wrote: "The oral history format lets the real stories shine through without excessive editorializing." Common criticisms focus on Shales' writing structure and organization. Several Amazon reviewers mention the challenge of following chronological threads, with one noting: "The jumping timeline made it hard to track character arcs." Some readers found his TV criticism collections dated or too focused on specific time periods. Ratings across platforms: - "Live From New York" (2002): 4.2/5 on Amazon (2,000+ reviews), 4.1/5 on Goodreads (27,000+ ratings) - "Those Guys Have All the Fun": 3.9/5 on Amazon (500+ reviews), 3.8/5 on Goodreads (12,000+ ratings) - "But Wait... There's More!": 3.7/5 on Amazon (50+ reviews)

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Live From New York by James Andrew Miller, Tom Shales Behind-the-scenes history of Saturday Night Live told through interviews with cast members, writers, and producers.

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📺 Tom Shales won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1988 for his television criticism at The Washington Post, where he worked for nearly four decades. 🎭 The book's title "Medium Cool" references the 1969 Haskell Wexler film of the same name, which blended fictional and documentary techniques to examine the relationship between media and social upheaval. 📝 The Television Critics Association (TCA), which is the focus of this book, was founded in 1978 and hosts biannual press tours where television networks present their upcoming programming to critics. 🌟 Shales became one of the most influential television critics in America, known for his witty, sharp-tongued reviews and his ability to analyze both the artistic and cultural impact of television shows. 🎯 The book provides a behind-the-scenes look at how television critics shape public opinion and influence programming decisions, while also examining the complex relationship between critics and network executives.