David Bianculli
{{short description|American journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Bianculli
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|6|1960|12|7}}
| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| education = University of Florida, B.S., M.A.
| occupation = {{hlist|Television critic|author|academic}}
| years_active = 1975–present
| website = {{URL|TVWorthWatching.com}}
}}
David Bianculli (born 1953 or 1954)Wilk, Tom, [http://njmonthly.com/articles/lifestyle/people/the-watchman.html "The Watchman: Critic David Bianculli Has Made a Career Out of Taking Television Seriously"], New Jersey Monthly, (July 12, 2010) is an American TV critic, columnist, radio personality, non-fiction author and university professor. Bianculli has served as the television critic for NPR's radio show Fresh Air since the Philadelphia-based show went national in 1987,NPR, [https://www.npr.org/2012/12/31/168195804/fresh-air-at-25-a-live-musical-tribute "'Fresh Air' At 25: A Live Musical Tribute"], NPR, (December 28, 2012)Gross, Dan, [http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillygossip/Terry-Gross-talks-about-Fresh-Air-celebrating-25-years-on-NPR.html "Terry Gross talks about Fresh Air celebrating 25 years on NPR"], The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com, (May 10, 2012) and often fills in for the show's host, Terry Gross.[https://www.npr.org/people/2101612/david-bianculli NPR's Fresh Air website] He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the website TVWorthWatching.com, and is an associate professor of TV and film history at Rowan University[http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/ccca/facultyStaff/facultyStaff.html Rowan University, College of Communications & Creative Arts: Radio, TV & Film] in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Early life and education
Bianculli showed an early interest in television, even making notes about TV shows in his childhood diary. A graduate of Nova High SchoolRecchi, Ray, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140418220622/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-06-18/lifestyle/9806170304_1_class-reunions-reunion-show-show-boat "The Hall-Hill Kids to Strut Their Stuff"], Sun Sentinel, (June 18, 1988) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bianculli received a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Florida in 1975 and an M.A. in Journalism and Communication from the University of Florida in 1977. In 1995, Bianculli was named an Alumnus of Distinction by UF's College of Journalism and Communications.[http://www.jou.ufl.edu/alumni-support/alumni-of-distinction/1990s Alumni of Distinction at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications]
Career
While attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, Bianculli convinced an editor at the Gainesville Sun to let him "write a review of a brand-new TV show aimed at college kids, since I was a college kid and Gainesville was a college town."Bianculli, David, [http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/Bianculli-TVWorthWatching-Gainesville-Sun-SATURDAY-NIGHT-LIVE.aspx "Saturday Night Live"], TVWorthWatching.com, (November 5, 2007) That show was Saturday Night Live. Bianculli continued writing television reviews for the Sun, at $5 per review, while completing his master's degree.
Bianculli worked as a TV critic for the Ft. Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel from 1977 to 1980, which was followed by stints at the Akron Beacon Journal (1980-1983) and The Philadelphia Inquirer (1983-1987).Heldenfels, R.D., [http://www.ohio.com/blogs/heldenfiles/the-heldenfiles-online-1.258385/david-bianculli-background-1.259204 "David Bianculli Background"], The HeldenFiles Online, Akron Beacon Journal /Ohio.com, (November 2, 2006) In 1987, he was named TV critic for the New York Post, then jumped to the rival New York Daily News, where he remained from 1993 to 2007.[http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/14-year-daily-news-film-critic-gets-axed_b5815 "14 Year Daily News Film (sic) Critic Gets Axed"], FishbowlNY, Mediabistro.com (August 22, 2007) Bianculli also briefly served as TV critic for the TV trade magazine Broadcasting & Cable.[http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/profile/9660-David_Bianculli.php Broadcasting & Cable]
On November 5, 2007,Bianculli, David, [http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/Out-to-Launch.aspx "Out to Launch"], TVWorthWatching.com, (November 5, 2007) the day his farewell column[http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/daily-news-tv-critic-david-bianculli-long-thanks-article-1.257660 "Daily News TV Critic David Bianculli Says 'So Long and Thanks'"], New York Daily News, (November 5, 2007) ran in the New York Daily News, Bianculli launched his web magazine, TVWorthWatching.com, becoming its editor. The website was updated with news and columns until 2021.{{cite news|url = http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/To-Quote-Sam-Malone-Sorry-Were-Closed.aspx|title = To Quote Sam Malone, "Sorry. We're Closed"|last = Bianculli|first = David|website = TV Worth Watching|accessdate = September 15, 2024|date = March 31, 2021}}
Bianculli is the author of four books, Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously; Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events; Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', a history of the Smothers Brothers television variety show;Windolf, Jim, [http://tv.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/books/review/Windolf-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 "Tom, Dick and Carlin"]; and The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. The New York Times Sunday Book Review, (January 29, 2010)[http://authors.simonandschuster.com/David-Bianculli/2444 Simon and Schuster] and The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. In 2011, Smokehouse Pictures, the production company owned by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, and Sony Pictures optioned the rights to Dangerously Funny.Fleming Jr., Mike [https://deadline.com/2011/12/sony-pictures-and-george-clooney-plan-feature-on-tvs-the-smothers-brothers-203574/ "George Clooney and Sony Pictures Plan Feature on TV's the Smothers Brothers"], Deadline, (November 9, 2011)
Bianculli sits on the Advisory Council for the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media[http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about/advisory-council/david-bianculli Advisory Council at Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media] at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA. He is a member of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association[http://www.criticschoice.com/members/dbianculli Broadcast Television Journalists Association] and a founding member of the Television Critics Association.
In 2013, the website Complex included Bianculli in its list of "The 25 Best TV Bloggers Right Now".Gallagher, Brenden, [http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/04/25-best-tv-bloggers-right-now/david-bianculli "The 25 Best TV Bloggers Right Now"], Complex, (April 4, 2013)
Bianculli has been a resident of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, since 1987.Shelly, Kevin C. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2014/03/05/npr-freshair-bianculli/6097261/ "TV critic David Bianculli still a breath of Fresh Air"], USA Today, March 5, 2014. Accessed November 28, 2017. "Terry Gross laughs as soon as television critic David Bianculli's Cherry Hill home is mentioned. So does Danny Miller, longtime producer of Fresh Air, the National Public Radio show hosted by Gross, where Bianculli contributes and routinely guest-hosts."
Books
- The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. New York: Anchor Books, 2016. Paperback: {{ISBN|978-1-101-91132-7}}; eBook: {{ISBN|978-0-385-54028-5}}.
- Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2009. Hardback: {{ISBN|1439101167}}; Paperback: {{ISBN|1439101175}}.
- Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1996; Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, paperback, 1997. Hardback: {{ISBN|0826405770}}; Paperback: {{ISBN|0815605056}}.
- Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1992. Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, paperback, 1994. Hardback: {{ISBN|0826405355}}; Paperback: {{ISBN|0671882384}}.
Bianculli has also contributed articles or chapters to various publications. They include:
- "Twin Peaks" in The Essential Cult TV Reader. David Lavery, ed. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2010. {{ISBN|0813125685}}.
- "Quality TV: A U.S. TV Critic's Perspective" in Reading Quality TV: American Television and Beyond. Janet McCabe and Kim Akass, eds. London: I.B. Tauris & Co., 2007. Hardback: {{ISBN|1845115104}} Paperback: {{ISBN|1845115112}}.
- "The CSI Phenomenon" in Reading CSI: Crime Television Under the Microscope. Michael Allen, ed. London: I.B. Tauris & Co., 2007. Paperback: {{ISBN|1845114280}}.
- "The Myth, the Man, the Legend," in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Children, Television, and Fred Rogers. Mark Collins and Margaret Mary Kimmel, eds. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996. Hardback: {{ISBN|0822939215}} Paperback: {{ISBN|0822956527}}.
- "The Theory of Evolution, According to Vonnegut (A Review of Galapagos)," in The Critical Response to Kurt Vonnegut. Leonard Mustazza, ed. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0313286345}}.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.tvworthwatching.com/ Official website]
- [https://www.npr.org/people/2101612/david-bianculli/ NPR's Fresh Air website]
- [http://www.nydailynews.com/search-results/search-results-7.113?kw=&tfq=&afq=DAVID+BIANCULLI&sortOrder=Relevance&selecturl=site&q=david+bianculli+&sfq=&dtfq=/ New York Daily News archives]
- [http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/ccca/facultyStaff/facultyStaff.html/ Rowan University, College of Communications & Creative Arts: Radio, TV & Film]
- [http://authors.simonandschuster.com/David-Bianculli/2444/ Simon and Schuster website]
- {{IMDb name|1313717}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers
Category:American television critics
Category:Journalists from Florida
Category:New York Daily News people
Category:Rowan University faculty
Category:The Philadelphia Inquirer people
Category:University of Florida alumni
Category:Writers from Cherry Hill, New Jersey