Robert Thompson (media scholar)

Robert James Thompson (born 1959) is an American educator and media scholar.[1][2] He is the Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.[3] He is widely quoted in media.[3][4][5]

Robert Thompson
Born (1959-08-03) August 3, 1959
Westmont, Illinois, US
OccupationProfessor
Years active1990–present
EmployerSyracuse University

His areas of research are television history, Popular Culture, media criticism, and TV programming.[2][6] Thompson's various soundbites have been dubbed by the Associated Press as "Thompson-isms".[7][8] On February 4, 2009 Jon Hein of the Howard Stern Show announced that Thompson is his "arch nemesis," referring to popular culture trivia.[9]

Biography

Thompson was born in Westmont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago to LeRoy Edward and Joan Alice Thompson.[10] He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago (1981[1]) and an M.A. (1982) and Ph.D. (1987) in radio, television and film from Northwestern University.[11]

Thompson began his academic career at SUNY Cortland in 1987 and was hired by David Rubin at Syracuse University in 1990.[3][4] In 1997, he started the Center for the Study of Popular Television with a gift from former network executive and producer, Fred Silverman.[12][2] The center was renamed the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in 2006 for Edward Bleier, former Warner Bros. president.[13]

Publications

Thompson has authored, co-authored, or edited six books and textbooks: Television Studies: Textual Analysis with Gary Burns (1989), Making Television: Authorship and the Production Process with Gary Burns (1990), Adventures on Prime Time: The Television Programs of Stephen J. Cannell (1990), Prime Time, Prime Movers (1992), Television's Second Golden Age (1997), and Television in the Antenna Age: A Concise History (2004).[14]

In 2018, Thompson launched his first podcast with Newhouse colleague Charisse L’Pree entitled, Critical and Curious, which explores pop “trash” through the lens of media history and theory as well as representations of race, class, and gender. The first season closely analyzed the Fast and Furious franchise. The second season features a star study of Keanu Reeves.[15]

References
  1. Braverman, Amy M. (December 2005). "Culture Jock: Robert Thompson, television and pop-culture expert, tunes out critics' raised-eyebrow reactions to his field". The University of Chicago Magazine. Vol. 98, no. 2. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  2. Stern, Gary (January 1, 2002). "Professor Pop Culture". Syracuse University Magazine. Syracuse University. 19 (1): 28–33. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  3. Bauderap, David (October 12, 2003). "Syracuse professor turns pop culture into academic gold". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved April 10, 2022. On the day the first "Survivor" concluded in 2000, Thompson did 47 media interviews. On the next day, he did 40 more.
  4. "Quotable prof finds value in ephemera of pop culture". The Columbus Dispatch. June 4, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2022. At The New York Times alone, an archive search shows Thompson quoted more than 40 times in the past four years. In the past year, Dispatch reporters have gone to him eight times while the Associated Press has quoted him close to 20.
  5. Nytpicker, The. "It's True: Spaghetti Tacos "Expert," Prof. Robert Thompson, Has Now Been Interviewed By 78 Different NYT Reporters". Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  6. Romenesko, Jim (July 7, 2004). "Pop culture pundit Thompson loves talking to reporters". Boston Globe / Poynter. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  7. Noveck, Jocelyn (May 14, 2007). "Syracuse prof is pop culture ambassador". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  8. "The Robert Thompson problem". Korr Values. May 4, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  9. "Show".
  10. Anderson, Shawn (March 25, 2002). "SU professor an expert on TV, pop culture". The Daily Orange. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  11. Thompson, Robert James (August 1987). The dynamics of power and creativity in American commercial television: the case of Stephen J. Cannell (PhD). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. OCLC 25363384. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  12. "Good Show!". Syracuse University Magazine. Syracuse University. 26 (2): 22-23. Summer 2009.
  13. "Quad Angles: Pop culture CENTER". Syracuse University Magazine. Syracuse University. 23 (1): 4. January 1, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  14. "People - Robert J. Thompson". WNYC. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  15. "Critical and Curious Blog".
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