Eric Deggans

Eric Deggans serves as TV/media critic for the St. Petersburg Times, a position he assumed – or, resumed – in August 2006. The job is a modification of a position he assumed in August 2005 as media critic, a job the newspaper created specifically for him. Before serving as media critic, Deggans sat on the newspaper's editorial board and wrote bylined opinion columns, specializing in race issues, pop culture, media and national affairs. From 1997 to 2004, he worked as TV critic for the Times. A Times employee since November 1995, Deggans originally joined the paper as music critic. Now serving as president of the Tampa Bay area chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, he has also served on the board of directors for the National Television Critics Association and on the board of the Mid-Florida Society of Professional Journalists. He has contributed as a pundit or essayist to many media outlets, including: The Huffington Post; CNN's Reliable Sources; CNN Headline News; Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes and Fox and Friends; CBS Radio; MSNBC; CBS' Public Eye blog and All Things Considered (National Public Radio).