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.
-
In his first TV interview, Alec Baldwin told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he never pulled the trigger of the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film's director.
-
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson sifted through over 60 hours of footage to create a docuseries called The Beatles: Get Back, dropping on Disney+ in installments over three days.
-
Journalist James Andrew Miller and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans talk about how HBO changed television and why the next few years are pivotal for the network's future.
-
James Andrew Miller's new book, Tinderbox, tells the history of HBO starting with its 1972 debut. HBO succeeded as a cable channel revolutionizing TV by airing programs most outlets wouldn't touch.
-
Cowboy Bebop is a live-action version of a beloved anime series from the 1990s, featuring John Cho as futuristic hitman-turned-bounty hunter Spike Spiegel.
-
The new Apple TV+ series feels far removed from the comedies Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd have become known for.
-
Trying again — without a feel for where the show went wrong last time — doesn't lead to a better result.
-
Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick worked together on the series, a coming-of-age portrait of the athlete.
-
Insecure portrays Black joy and pain and struggle without the typical storytelling cliches. The final season of Issa Rae's show works as well as ever.
-
Succession's pandemic-delayed third season kicks off Sunday — and TV critic Eric Deggans says it's well worth the wait.
-
The new miniseries, adapted from journalist Beth Macy's critically acclaimed book, shows opioid addiction ravaging one rural Virginia town.
-
In his new Netflix special, Dave Chappelle tries — and often fails — to justify button-pushing jokes about gay people, transgender people and feminists.