* This Saturday at 8 p.m. former President Barack Obama will deliver a virtual commencement speech to the Class of 2020 that will be seen simultaneously on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The one-hour event will also air on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Complex Networks, PeopleTV and other digital platforms. Only downside: We will miss Obama even more.
* STAY HOME of the Whopper: It’s a daunting news cycle for ad-dependent news organizations confronted with businesses canceling advertising or demanding that their ads run far removed from grim, COVID media coverage. Lots of luck. There is a notable exception: Burger King. Its message of contact-free food delivery and pickup can practically run as a complement to shutdown news.
* The late Little Richard was big time back in the day. He helped introduce black R&B to white America and became a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One quick takeaway: His popularity prompted deplorableand inferior “cover” efforts by white performers. Even my parents thought it was silly, if not embarrassing, to hear Pat Boone’s rendering of “Tutti Frutti.”
* “The virus just isn’t nearly as deadly as we thought it was, all of us, including on this show.”–Fox News host Tucker Carlson.