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   Avery Brooks savin…

   
   

   15 January 2026

   This event began 01/15/2025 and repeats every year forever

   
   

   Avery Brooks saving Sisqo - January 15th 2025
   https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2828&type=status
   
    
   IF YOU DIDNT CLICK THE STATUS LINK ABOVE
    
   The Legend of Sisqó played by Avery Brooks
   I think the end of Deep Space Nine kept the old star trek adage the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one while maintaining Brooks desire to be a responsible husband+ father. ...the resulting episode, maintained sisqo the family man while maintaining sisqo a federation officer willing to do what is necessary to help the most 
   ARTICLE
   Star Trek: Why Avery Brooks Changed Sisko's Original DS9 Ending
   The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale almost had a different ending for Benjamin Sisko before actor Avery Brooks requested it changed. DS9 was the third series in the Star Trek franchise and ran from 1993 to 1999 before ending after seven seasons. The show delivered its two-part final episode, "What You Leave Behind", in June 1999, rounding out its run with an action-packed and emotional finale that wrapped up a multitude of storylines. One of the most important storylines to get resolved, however, was the conclusion of the arc for DS9's main character, the underrated Captain Benjamin Sisko.
   Sisko's character arc revolved around him coming to terms with his role as the Emissary, an important spiritual leader to the Bajoran people chosen by their gods the Prophets to save Bajor by finding the Celestial Temple. Sisko learned he was the Emissary in episode 1, and this fact was the basis for many of his storylines throughout DS9. In "What You Leave Behind", Sisko finally fulfilled his destiny by stopping Gul Dukat from releasing the Pah-Wraiths, and subsequently joined the Prophets in the Celestial Temple. In doing so, Sisko left behind his life and agreed to reside with the Prophets as one of them, a non-corporeal being outside of time and space. Unfortunately, this also meant Captain Sisko left his family behind in the corporeal world, including his then-pregnant wife, Kasidy Yates-Sisko.
   During his final scene, Sisko was allowed to see Kasidy one last time, to tell her what had happened and let her know that despite everything, he would return to her one day. In the original ending, however, the scene depicted Sisko telling Kasidy he would never return and would stay with the Prophets forever, never seeing her or his son, Jake, again. This would have been a much less ambiguous, if sadder, ending for Sisko and his family. This version made it all the way to production and was even shot, but after the initial filming, Avery Brooks contacted Deep Space Nine's executive producer Ira Steven Behr to request the scene be changed. Brooks told Behr that after giving it some thought he was uncomfortable with the implications of a black man essentially abandoning his pregnant wife to raise their unborn child alone. Behr apparently agreed with Brooks since the scene was re-shot and changed to the ending viewers are now familiar with.
   Although the change was small, Brooks advocating for it helped make sure Sisko was not written completely out-of-character in the finale. Being the first black man to be the lead in his own Star Trek show, Sisko was a groundbreaking character for the franchise, but over the years, fans and critics have cited that one of the most important things about him was the fact he was a black male character who was a family man. At a time when the representation of black men as devoted fathers was scarce in media, Sisko served as a positive example for many. Brooks changing Sisko's ending to be consistent with his portrayal as fiercely loyal to his family made sure this reputation wasn't marred right at the end like it might have been if the scene had not been altered.
   Despite Brooks' change adding a hopeful note, Sisko's ending was still bittersweet. Additionally, even with viewer interest and the Deep Space Nine creative team having ideas of how to carry on, there has not yet been a continuation of Sisko's storyline, meaning fans have never gotten to see his prophesied return to his family. Even so, Avery Brooks making sure Sisko eventually would return was a very smart move and served to make the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine even better.
   URL
   https://screenrant.com/star-trek-ds9-sisko-ending-return-avery-brooks-change/
   FROM Steven Barnes OF LIFEWRITING
   Avery Brooks was a shattering revelation. The most "male" black man I'd ever seen on television.  I almost couldn't believe what I was watching. And according to Brooks, Robert Urich was instrumental in demanding that Hawk be Hawk.  Bless him.  Bless them both.  Brooks eventually sacrificed his career to resist studio attempts to turn Sisko into a Magical/Sacrificial Negro...preferring to be a good father to his son.   He didn't quite succeed, but the effort itself would have made Hawk proud.
   

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   Economic Corner 8 …

   
   

   15 January 2026

   This event began 01/15/2025 and repeats every year forever

   
   

   TikTok banning on book publishing
   MY THOUGHTS
   1) tiktok is the most popular website in modern humanity so replacing its algorithm joined to its userbase will be a challenge- many websites will try but i think many will fail, an expensive failure 2) outside a website with a similar userbase size [google/meta] a website with a smaller relative userbase that succeeds with a sharper marketing style will lack the exposure or outreach of a larger userbase 3) Book readers will survive and at the end of the day the Booktok model will survive maybe mirrored in various places that will require book lovers to know where to be online. 
   An interesting time for the commercial structure of the literature business concerning the internet
   ARTICLE
   BookTok shaped a new generation of readers, authors. What happens if TikTok is banned?
   Clare Mulroy
   USA TODAY
   
   
   It doesn’t matter if you’re off social media or chronically online enough to know what “faerie smut” is – if you’re a reader, you’ve probably heard of BookTok. 
   Reader communities are nothing new. But BookTok isn’t your grandma’s book club or the Facebook fan page of your mom’s generation – in fact, it gave online book communities of days past a run for their money by boosting book sales and birthing an entirely new generation of readers. 
   But on Friday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments to determine whether it should block a law requiring TikTok to cut ties with the Chinese government or be banned Jan. 19. 
   What happens for booklovers if it all goes away?
   The 2020 pandemic lockdown days and TikTok’s growing popularity primed young adult readers for this online bibliophile's paradise. Backlist sales soared, especially with romance and fantasy authors like Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas. Hoover's romance book sales increased 693% from 2020 to 2021, the Washington Post reported. Maas anchored a 75% year-over-year revenue increase in 2024, according to Publishers Weekly. TikTok’s algorithm also became the silver bullet for many independent and self-published authors. 
   On a platform where anyone could go viral, any book was fair game for discussion, and some authors’ followings ballooned. 
   “Because TikTok is free, so to speak, it’s a very valuable, cost-effective marketing tool that authors have used,” says Regina Brooks, president of the Association of American Literary Agents. “If you find readers who really value your work, you as the author don’t have to do the same type of pushing because you have ambassadors who will do that work for you.” 
   Bloom, an imprint of Sourcebooks, became a big name in romance publishing by taking over the distribution and marketing of some of BookTok's viral self-published authors including Ana Huang and Lucy Score. 
   “It really democratized social media and it really put voices all at one level, including those of our authors,” says Maranda Seney, the publisher's senior online marketing manager. “What that did was really facilitate an openness and vulnerability and a new level of connection between authors and readers. And I do think that TikTok and TikTok’s algorithm were incredibly helpful in that.”
   Before, authors were often encouraged to keep interactions with fans limited. Molly Waxman, vice president and executive director of marketing at Sourcebooks who has been in the industry for 25 years, remembers when the fanmail-answering guidance was “let the USPS be the barrier between you and your fans.”
   Now, on TikTok, authors are encouraged to hop on a livestream or answer fan questions. Many agents and publishers look specifically to sign authors who already have a social following. Some TikTok users have even secured book deals from their viral videos like Alex Aster's "Lightlark" and "Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective" by Katie Siegel, who both posted concept videos and caught the attention of publishers.
   That emotional connection between authors and readers has been “powerful” to watch, says Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks. Rather than being on a pedestal, authors are rewarded for their candidness and authenticity. “It’s about being human, you’re on this journey with somebody you admire and really love their books and you’re walking every step with them,” Raccah says.
   But if TikTok does get banned, will that mentality sundown too?
   Rachel Whitehurst is the founder of the marketing firm The Nerd Fam, offering public relations support to independent authors who don’t have a marketing team. She thinks the seed has already been planted – support of self-published authors will only continue on the next “BookTok.” 
   “It will be more important for (indie authors) to use that business acumen,” she says. “It’s unfortunate, and I do think that adapting is going to be the most important thing, but I’m not worried.”
   Authors may have benefitted, but really, readers and content creators are the ones driving the BookTok bus; finding bubbles of niche reading tastes thanks to an effective algorithm that uses large swaths of data to bring users videos tailored to their interests. 
   Rachael Beck, an author and owner of FanCornerCreations, makes fandom and fantasy-themed trinkets like “Harry Potter” wedding ring boxes, earrings and games. “We make the nerdy products no one else does, with the passion only a fellow fan can,” her site reads. 
   On BookTok, Beck found a loyal, supportive community that valued her creations as much as she did. Her success on the app allowed her to quit her corporate job and focus on her business fulltime. Half of the traffic to her website comes from TikTok, she says, and it’s how she gets people to visit her booth at Comic Cons. 
   “It’s been very life-changing,” she says. “I really feel like I found my voice because of TikTok.”
   To prepare for a possible ban, Beck started cross-posting on Instagram but the community aspect didn’t translate, she says. When she posts well-performing, well-received TikTok videos on Instagram, they get fewer views and more derisive comments.
   “I’m the same human, sometimes literally (posting) the exact same content,” Beck says. “I try to cater it to the different platform I'm on, but there’s absolutely no question that TikTok’s algorithm puts you in front of more people. And it’s a better algorithm, so the people you’re being put in front of are much more engaged in the content.” 
   She’ll continue no matter what happens with TikTok, but she worries about other small businesses, who she says need support to feel like they can keep going.
   “I think there’s going to be a lot of small businesses who’ve never weathered a big storm before, who just capsize,” Beck says.
   Industry experts are looking to readers for the next steps, confident they'll find them wherever they land if TikTok goes away.
   “There’s always going to be an iteration of this. It’s about community,” says Pamela Jaffee, senior director of publicity and brand marketing at Bloom Books and Casablanca. “Twelve years ago, it was the in-person book club that made ‘50 Shades of Grey.’” The book community got online with Facebook, then blogging, then Instagram, with a dozen apps in between. 
   “The readers took that voice back on TikTok and now that they have that voice, they’re not going to be silenced. They’re going to share that love and that passion, and I think it just leads to more opportunity to reach readers widely,” Jaffee says. 
   Seney concurs: “At this point, it’s technology’s job to catch up with readers and then to meet us where we are, which is in this place of community and connection.” 
   Brooks also sees a silver lining in a possible eviction from BookTok – new creative endeavors. 
   “That platform also kind of turned books into status symbols, and I think in a way that other platforms have not done. And I also think that if TikTok goes away, it could spur a bit more innovation in marketing,” she says. “I would love to see people be a little bit more creative about how books can reach their intended audience."
   Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, check out her recent articles or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.
   article url
   https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2025/01/10/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-booktok-publishing/77601633007/
   linkedin referral from Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/regina-brooks_following-its-rise-in-popularity-in-2020-activity-7284612784460300290-I_pS?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
   
   Prior Post
   https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11422-economiccorner007/
   POST URL
   https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11424-economiccorner008/
   PRIOR EDITION
   https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/143-economic-corner-7-january-14th-2025/
   NEXT EDITION
   https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/165-economic-corner-09-media-properties-dictate-01282025/
    
   01/15/2026
    
   https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12295-whatever-happened-to-the-tiktok-ban/#findComment-79367
    @ProfD 
   I don't even recall them selling any part of the company.  Last I cognized they were in court or it had been stalled. I need to do more research. 
   if it was a ruse and the objective was to sell a part, then what was in the part sold that satisfied those who attacked it? I wonder
    
    
   
   

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