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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After months of delays due to Hollywood strikes, the 2023 Emmys will be held in Los Angeles on Jan. 15. We look at the confusing eligibility rules and the strikes' impact on TV's biggest awards night.
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In a turbulent year for Hollywood, our TV critic Eric Deggans offers his own set of awards — with fewer rules and cutoffs. Here's a breakdown of what will probably win, and what he wishes would win.
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After two long strikes and the pandemic disruption, this is the year everything comes back. True Detective returns, now set in Alaska. And Echo is a Marvel series mostly shorn of superheroes.
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Lengthy strikes. Layoffs. Hikes in subscription fees. It was a long year in media. TV critic Eric Deggans looks ahead at what's coming next, and — believe it or not — it's not all bad.
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A lot is changing in the media landscape. The industry's troubles this year offer clues about the most important questions companies will face next year.
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Whether you plan to head out to the theater or binge from the couch, our critics have gathered together their favorite films and TV shows of the year. Happy watching!
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It may have started out as an insult, but there's nothing wrong with Dad TV. You can see it all – responsibility-free wish fulfillment, fistfights, romantic fantasy – in the new season of Reacher.
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The Crown brought us six seasons of high-quality, royal melodrama. The final episodes strain under the weight of that legacy — they are a quiet finish to the show's final season.
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Braugher, who starred on Homicide and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, died Monday at age 61. Trained at Juilliard and adept at stage work, the actor had a steely authority that undergirded most of his roles.
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Norman Lear, who addressed serious issues in humorous sitcoms, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 101. He leaves behind a legacy of hit 1970s sitcoms that revolutionized television.