I am the TV/media critic at the Baltimore Sun. I write the Z on TV blog at baltimoresun.com. I also do a weekly radio report, "Media Matters: Take on Television," at Baltimore's public radio statioon WYPR-FM (88.1) as part of a content sharing agreement between the station and the Sun.

I have been the Baltimore Sun's TV critic since 1989. Before that I was TV critic/columnist at the Dallas Times Herald. I earned a Ph.D. in American Studies (pop culture-media studies) from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2000. I have an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin in specialized reporting (pop culture). I am the author of "The Jews of Prime Time," a look at 50 years of Jewish idenitity in front of behind the cameras of network TV (Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 2003).

TV and media.

Adam May leaving WJZ for Al Jazeera America 5/20/2013
Will work out of Washington as national correspondent WJZ reporter-anchor Adam May is leaving the Baltimore station at the end of the month to join Al Jazeera America as a national correspondent.

Redesigned 'Baltimore Style' features Katie O'Malley cover 5/20/2013
Magazine to debut new look Here's what the new Baltimore Style magazine looks like.

PBS to launch Charlie Rose weekend show 5/20/2013
Production will air Friday nights starting in July PBS is going to launch a new Charlie Rose in July, the public broadcaster announced Monday.

Mel Brooks an American Master and then some 5/20/2013
And the 2,000 Year Old Man is still on his game You cannot understand American humor in the second half of the 20th Century without appreciating the crazed genius of Mel Brooks.

Preakness TV ratings up year to year, according to NBC overnight data 5/19/2013
Race up 6 percent. pre-race rises 24 percent for network coverage The audience for NBC's coverage of the Preakness was up by as much as 24 percent during the afternoon, according to overnight Nielsen data provided by the network.