#Writers’ Blockheads: Why Hollywood Isn’t Reflecting  Real Life
The Gist: The findings – based on new research done by a data scientist, TV writer, and researcher – on why Hollywood can’t pass the Bechdel test, even in 2015. One of the reasons: the writers’ room.
Source Article Here: Forbes
Author: Natalie Robehmed

 

#Viral Vidz: The Most Epic Lip Sync Battles, From Mike Tyson to Tracee Ellis Ross
The Gist: A collection of lip sync battles from the eponymous Spike series, with millions of views tallied, including Taraji P. Henson vs. Terrence Howard, Mike Tyson vs. Terry Crews, Anthony Mackie vs. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and more.
Source Article Here: Essence
Author: Lauren Porter

Why Social Media Skills Are Crucial To Employers & The Scramble To Teach Peeps
The Gist: $70 billion will be spent to educate the US workforce this year, from Millennials to Boomers, on social media know-how as consumers’ $1.3 trillion dollars are up for grabs to those who know how to do it well.
Source Article Here: Fast Company
Author: Ryan Holmes

#Free Online Course For Social Media Education – At Your Own Pace – Right Now
The Gist: Social media management system Hootsuite has a free online course, with 6 video tutorials, on social media education and strategies (referenced in the article above) available free here.
Enroll Free Here: Hootsuite Podium
H/T: Ryan Holmes

ESPN President Says Those Who Downsize Their Cable Packages Are Older & Less Affluent
The Gist: Cord-cutting cost the deep-pocketed ESPN 7 million subscribers in a mere 2 years and hammered Disney stock in what was a palpable shock to the industry at the time, if not the network. Not so surprising, according to its President’s interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Source Article Here: Techdirt
Author: Karl Bode

 

The New Kickstarter Campaign For ‘Jem’ Live-Action Short
The Gist: After the Blumhouse Productions version of Jem and the Holograms grossed less than $1.5M and had to be pulled from theaters in just 2 weeks, the all-female Creature Productions wants a shot at continuing the lo-fi ‘80s cartoon’s story.
Source Article Here: HitFix
Author: Donna Dickens

Forecasting Viacom: $6.5 Billion In Subscription Revenues By 2022
The Gist: Balancing revenue growth vs. declining viewership are key factors facing Viacom’s empire of cable networks, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon, as this deep-dive into the programming giant shows.
Source Article Here: Forbes
Authors: Trefis Team

Flashback Read

#Writers Advice: “People do not always say exactly what they’re thinking.”
The Gist: This breezy post from October 2015 is a short primer on what to study and remember when you want your characters’ dialogue to be as realistic as possible.
Source Article Here: The Dialogue Architect
Author: Tony Folden