Welcome To The AllYourScreens.com Reboot

This update has been coming for a long time.

Back in 1997, I realized that I needed to have a digital home for my growing archive of freelance pieces. I bought the domain RickOnTV, where I began posting not just archived pieces but some original work. That eventually became AllYourTV.com and then AllYourScreens.com. The domain names changed as the scope of my writing expanded, but I have always seen this as a place for my most personal and independent works.

The web site ebbed and flowed as I transitioned through a few "real" journalism jobs. Timing was always an issue and in many cases, my "traditional" job insisted that I shutter or at least dial back my personal web site. For instance, back in 2003, I broke a bunch of stories about Phil Donahue's exit from MSNBC the same week I was offered a great job running an NBC-owned web site. Another time, I took a job for the then AOL-owned Patch.com. Then I was told I couldn't write at all about TV because it might conflict with the AOL-owned Huffington Post. Other times, I was just so buried in my job that it was tough to think about anything else. I spent  couple of years doing financial news at a Bay Area start-up and while I did cover TV and the media for them, the long days didn't leave much time for freelancing. I was always writing about TV and the media, but I wasn't always able to do it on my own. But a few years ago I realized that I could make a reasonable living writing about TV and the media. It's not always easy, but I like the idea of being a passionate independent voice in Flyover Country, where most of television's audience actually lives.

So this new look is my way of marking the fact that good or bad, my professional life is now tied directly to AllYourScreens. And it is becoming successful enough that it deserves more attention from me. I still do some freelance work, but more of my time is now focused on what I can do for my own site.

This new look is also a good way to mark some editorial changes that have been in the works for the past few weeks.

One of the big additions to the site will be the addition of a regular series of original pieces that fit into a common theme. I've experimented with this a bit earlier in the year, with some pieces that were around the theme of the "Changing Face Of TV Fandom."

Tomorrow we are launching a series entitled "Climate Change: As Seen On TV." It's an effort to show the impact climate change has had on some of the people and places you've seen on television. There are interviews with some familiar television faces as well as producers, documentarians and other people working off-camera. There will also be a look at some of the related specials that are currently available for streaming, as well as pieces that put all of the climate change into context. It's a series I'm proud of and one that I think offers a unique look at a very important subject. It's an exxample of how I think this web site can distinguish itself from its much larger and more powerful trade competition.

Other changes on the site are an effort to bring a bit more organization to the editorial mix. We've had a lot of success with our "5 Songs You Should Know" series and those will continue to post every Tuesday and Thursday.

We'll continue some of our new daily features, including a rundown of the most illegally-downloaded TV titles of the day, the TV shows airing new episodes that day and a rundown of three media stories that might be off your radar. We'll also be launching a video product that highlights that day's best viewing choices. And that's in addition to the regular editorial mix of reviews, interviews and news.

This expansion on my part is due entirely to the wonderful AllYourScreens readers. While July's traffic numbers are not complete, it looks like we managed somewhere in the range of 1.2 million unique visitors. All of you have helped to contribute to my success and I promise you'll be rewarded in the upcoming months with more of the feisty, independent television coverage that you've come to expect from us.

If you ever have any story ideas, tips or just feedback about what you see here, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..