David Bianculli is an American TV critic, columnist, radio personality, non-fiction author and university professor. Bianculli has served as the television critic for
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's radio show ''
Fresh Air
''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...
'' since the Philadelphia-based show went national in 1987, and regularly fills in for the show's long-time host,
Terry Gross
Terry Gross (born February 14, 1951) is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of '' Fresh Air'', an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining N ...
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents.
...
in
Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579, A graduate of
Nova High School
Nova High School is a public high school located in Davie, Florida and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is one of four schools that comprise the Nova Center for Applied Research and Professional Development, the others ...
in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Bianculli received a B.S. in Journalism from the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
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.
Career
While attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, Bianculli convinced an editor at the ''
Gainesville Sun
''The Gainesville Sun'' () is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. The paper is published by Lynni Henderson, the paper's Executive Editor is Douglas Ray and the ed ...
'' 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." That show was ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''. 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
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...
'' from 1977 to 1980, which was followed by stints at the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' (1980-1983) and ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' (1983-1987). In 1987, he was named TV critic for the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', then jumped to the rival ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'', where he remained from 1993 to 2007. Bianculli also briefly served as TV critic for the TV trade magazine ''
Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...
''.
On November 5, 2007, the day his farewell column ran in the ''New York Daily News'', Bianculli launched his web magazine, TVWorthWatching.com.
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
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas ("Tom" – born February 2, 1937) and Richard ("Dick" – born November 20, 1938), American folk singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic gu ...
television variety show; and ''The Platinum Age of Television: From ''I Love Lucy'' to ''The Walking Dead'', How TV Became Terrific''. In 2011,
Smokehouse Pictures
Smokehouse Pictures is an American film and television production company. The company was founded in 2006 by George Clooney and Grant Heslov after the shutdown of Section Eight Productions. Its name is taken from the Smoke House restaurant, l ...
, the production company owned by
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
and
Grant Heslov
Grant Heslov (born May 15, 1963) is an American actor and filmmaker known for his producing and writing collaborations with George Clooney, which have earned him four Oscar nominations. As a co-producer of ''Argo'' (2012), he received the Academ ...
, and
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
optioned the rights to ''Dangerously Funny''.
Bianculli sits on the Advisory Council for the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at
Saint Vincent College
Saint Vincent College is a private Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the ...
, Latrobe, PA. He is a member of the
Broadcast Television Journalists Association
The Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), is an association of television, radio and online critics. Their membership includes critics who review film and television. Founded in 1995, it is the ...
and a founding member of the
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...
.
In 2013, the website
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', 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: ; eBook: .
*''Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"''. New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2009. Hardback: ; Paperback: .
*''Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events''. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1996; Syracuse:
Syracuse University Press
Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses.
History
SUP was formed in August 1943 when president William P. Tolley pro ...
, paperback, 1997. Hardback: ; Paperback: .
*'' Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously''. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1992. Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, paperback, 1994. Hardback: ; Paperback: .
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
The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...
, 2010. .
*"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: Paperback: .
*"The CSI Phenomenon" in ''Reading CSI: Crime Television Under the Microscope''. Michael Allen, ed. London: I.B. Tauris & Co., 2007. Paperback: .
*"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: Paperback: .
*"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. .