The Year in Info-Tainment
The Year in Info-Tainment
The Year in Info-Tainment: Part 2
The Roman god Janus is where we get the name January. Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions, is always depicted with two faces: one gazing backward into the past, with the other gazing forward into the future. (Interestingly, the word ‘janitor’ also comes from this word etymology.) And so, here is the second part of our look back at 2025.
2025 = 2+0+2+5 = 9: 2025 was a “9” year in numerology, which brought endings to patterns. It could have been a relationship or a job. Last week, with our ‘hail and farewell’ article, it appeared that it also brought an end to the lives of a lot of celebrities.
2025 may go down in history as one of the most exhausting years on record! The news broke fast and furious, there were mergers in every corner of the media world, and it seemed like the deaths of noteworthy celebrities and leaders quickened their pace as the year went on.
With apologies to Cousin Rendell at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, here is part two of the 2025 edition of the Year in Info-Tainment.
Christianity Changes: Pope Francis made it to Easter Sunday, then passed away after one last ride through St. Peter’s Square. His successor was Pope Leo XIV – formerly known as Bob Prevost from Chicago, Illinois and the first United States citizen to be elected Pontiff. Leo immediately became a media darling thanks to his unabashed love of the Chicago White Sox, Chicago-style pizza, middle-America humor, and easygoing charm. His favorite movies include “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Blues Brothers,” and “The Sound of Music” – choices with which anyone could agree. For the first time in history, an American is holding the top job in Christendom. Closer to home, Archbishop Thomas Rodi retired and was replaced by Archbishop Mark Rivituso, who comes to Alabama from his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri where he has lived and worked his entire life.
Tiffany Troubles: CBS was often called the “Tiffany Network” for the perceived quality of its programming over rival networks. This year, CBS became a political pawn, as Paramount (owner of CBS) sought to merge with a company called Skydance. “60 Minutes” was sued by President Donald Trump for their editing job on an interview with former presidential candidate Kamala Harris; “60 Minutes” was forced to apologize and pay the President $16 million in damages. Skydance-Paramount mandated immediate changes as soon as the merger was complete, including the installation of far-right blogger Bari Weiss as head of CBS News -- which led to the departures of key members of the CBS News division and an overhaul of both morning and evening programming including the flagship “CBS Evening News.” Late night was perhaps the most affected, for Stephen Colbert – host of the top-rated program in late night television – wasn’t just fired, but the entire “CBS Late Show” franchise was cancelled, ending decades of broadcasts from the legendary Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City.
Kimmel Kerfuffle: On the heels of Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS came Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension at ABC. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host had been a vociferous critic of President Trump, and after making some careless remarks during a monologue about the death of Charlie Kirk, Kimmel was forced off the air for a few weeks. Kimmel returned and tearfully apologized, then was hit with the unexpected death of his bandleader and lifelong best friend Cleto Escobedo. The episode dedicated to Cleto was a must-watch in 2025 and was one of the most sincere expressions of friendship seen on television in a long time.
Fire and ICE: The Texas floods and California wildfires were big stories in 2025. The devastating Pacific Palisades fire killed 29 people and destroyed 16,000 homes and businesses, while the Texas floods killed 135 people including children at Camp Mystic. An immigration crackdown was also big news, with ICE agents busting cities and towns all over the map. The National Guard was sent in to several large American cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland to assist in law and order. In better news, the U.S. brokered a peace deal between Israel and Gaza, bringing a cease fire to the area after two years of war.
DOGE, Death, and Darts: Elon Musk took a chainsaw to government spending, eliminating 260,000 federal jobs by firing or transferring employees, or paying them to retire. Political violence was big news this year. Two Minnesota lawmakers -- Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed at their home and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were injured at theirs – and conservative speaker Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah – were all killed. In happier news, Luke Littler, at age 17, became the world’s youngest-ever darts champion.
Artificial Intelligence Arms Race: Chatbots ruled 2025, including “Character AI,” an app in which the user can chat up famous people – sometimes with dangerous results. There was a new movie star named Tilly Norwood, completely computer-generated by AI. “Walk My Walk” by an AI-generated country artist named Breaking Rust became the first AI number-one hit. OpenAI launched its newest, strongest version of ChatGPT, while Google gave us a powerful AI tool called Gemini and embedded it in our latest Google Chrome browser update.
A Penny for Your Thoughts: The U.S. Treasury ended production of the penny in 2025. The one-cent coin had been a money loser for many years; it was reported that it cost 3.7 cents to make a single penny. Not to worry, however: the penny will remain in circulation for years to come. Numismatists say that a penny may last 25 years or more, but I still see wheat pennies from the 1940s in my change at Super Foods nearly every time I run a cash register so I am not concerned that pennies will ever truly disappear!
My college fraternity has a song called “On and Ever Upward.” May we strive ever higher, on and ever upward, in 2026.
Michael Bird is an Assistant Professor of Music at Faulkner University in Montgomery.
