
Eric Deggans
Eric Deggans is NPR's first full-time TV critic.
Deggans came to NPR in 2013 from the Tampa Bay Times, where he served a TV/Media Critic and in other roles for nearly 20 years. A journalist for more than 20 years, he is also the author of Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, a look at how prejudice, racism and sexism fuels some elements of modern media, published in October 2012, by Palgrave Macmillan.
Deggans is also currently a media analyst/contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. In August 2013, he guest hosted CNN's media analysis show Reliable Sources, joining a select group of journalists and media critics filling in for departed host Howard Kurtz. The same month, Deggans was awarded the Florida Press Club's first-ever Diversity award, honoring his coverage of issues involving race and media. He received the Legacy award from the National Association of Black Journalists' A&E Task Force, an honor bestowed to "seasoned A&E journalists who are at the top of their careers." And in 2019, he was named winner of the American Sociological Association's Excellence in the Reporting of Social Justice Issues Award.
In 2019, Deggans served as the first African American chairman of the board of educators, journalists and media experts who select the George Foster Peabody Awards for excellence in electronic media.
He also has joined a prestigious group of contributors to the first ethics book created in conjunction with the Poynter Institute for Media Studies for journalism's digital age: The New Ethics of Journalism, published in August 2013, by Sage/CQ Press.
From 2004 to 2005, Deggans sat on the then-St. Petersburg Times editorial board and wrote bylined opinion columns. From 1997 to 2004, he worked as TV critic for the Times, crafting reviews, news stories and long-range trend pieces on the state of the media industry both locally and nationally. He originally joined the paper as its pop music critic in November 1995. He has worked at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey and both the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Press newspapers in Pennsylvania.
Now serving as chair of the Media Monitoring Committee for the National Association of Black Journalists, he has also served on the board of directors for the national Television Critics Association and on the board of the Mid-Florida Society of Professional Journalists.
Additionally, he worked as a professional drummer in the 1980s, touring and performing with Motown recording artists The Voyage Band throughout the Midwest and in Osaka, Japan. He continues to perform with area bands and recording artists as a drummer, bassist and vocalist.
Deggans earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and journalism from Indiana University.
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Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris was a major TV moment, featuring stars, such as Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez. NPR reviews the television coverage of Inauguration Day events.
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The first new Marvel show has premiered on Disney+. WandaVision traps popular superheroes Wanda and The Vision in a sitcom fantasy.
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The second season of the CW series Batwomanpremieres Sunday night. It stars Javicia Leslie, the first Black woman to play the character. She replaces Ruby Rose, who quit the series after one season.
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Netflix says Bridgerton is one of its most successful series launched in the company's history — but why has this story of 19th century love and marriage captured so many hearts?
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Michael Chiklis plays a Border Patrol agent forced to work for a drug cartel in the CBS All Access series Coyote. But some question whether a series on border issues should focus on a white officer.
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For those watching the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on TV, the news might have looked very different, depending on which cable network one tuned into. NPR looks at how the media covered the event.
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The new season of the hit TV showThe Bachelor premiered Monday night. It's the first time in the history of the series that has featured a Black bachelor as the central character.
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All the biggest media companies are chasing viewer tastes more intensely than ever, focusing on their streaming platforms as consumers create an increasingly personalized, fractured media diet.
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Pixar's new film stars Jamie Foxx as a jazz musician whose soul gets separated from his body. The animated feature explores themes of music and transformation.
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Grey's Anatomy and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes will debut her first series for Netflix on Christmas Day. Bridgertonfeatures storytelling techniques that have become hallmarks of Rhimes' style.