Monday, November 05, 2007

Bianculli writes farewell to NY Daily News

Last August 1, the BJ Retirees blog got word of rumors that former BJ television guy David Bianculli might “be let go by the N.Y. Daily News, unless he agrees to take a sharp reduction in pay.”

Apparently, he has decided. His farewell column appeared in the Daily News today and at the same time he officially launched his new website “TV Worth Watching.”

You should note that we have two posts on Bianculli today.. This one on his farewell and one on the new website.

Here are the first four graphs of the final column:

“When I introduced myself to Daily News readers here 14 years ago, one thing I confessed was that watching "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee!" was a guilty pleasure.

“That same morning, Regis was on TV waving the article, asking with mock exasperation what there was for me to feel guilty about.

“Today, as I present my farewell column for The News, I should make it clear: I no longer feel guilty. Part of that is due to his co-host Kelly Ripa, who charmed me from the start, and has complemented her grumpy senior partner in all the right ways. But the rest is that Regis Philbin, like David Letterman and relative newcomer Craig Ferguson, is a rarity: one of the medium's few natural broadcasters.

“Watching them, and writing about them, over the years, has been a pleasure. Being read by you - a loyal and discerning troop of readers who have proven to be avid TV viewers - has been an even bigger one.”

And Bianculli concludes:

“Though you can no longer read me here, I'll continue to serve as TV critic and guest host for National Public Radio's "Fresh Air." And today I launch a Web site, www.tvworthwatching.com , devoted to covering only the best, that TV has to offer. If nothing else, that should cut down on the workload.

‘’Meanwhile, thanks for reading. All these years later, quality TV still excites me - and sharing and trading opinions with those who share my love of the medium has been a wonderful way to make a living. For that, I thank my bosses, and also thank the people who work so hard to make good TV.

“And, I thank you.’

As usual, click on the headline to read another great Bianculli column.

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