I’m a pretty humble guy. I don’t think I have the answer to everything, and soap blogs are a dime a dozen.
Many of us bloggers just put our thoughts into mouseclicks and HTML to get our opinions heard. One reason why was that for many years, the mainstream soap press seemed to be at best synchophantic and at worst completely bought and bossed around by the shows.
And I can perhaps understand how; after all, it’s a very symbiotic relationship. The magazines need the cooperation of the shows for content. Soap Opera Digest Weekly was famously frozen out of any Days content for a time in the late 90s after they dared to criticize Ken Corday and/or the show itself.
But one newer voice has emerged from the print mags, and that’s Mala Bhattacharjee. She’s written a column for Soap Opera Weekly that launched shortly after the departure of then-editor Carolyn Hinsey. And her blog can be found on Digest’s website here.
I agree with a lot of Mala’s opinions, but even if I didn’t, I really appreciate the thoughfulness and intelligence of her posts. She’s talked about diversity on soaps from a unique perspective (her own cultural background) as well as intriguing, fresh observations on some of the more controversial stories and trends on soaps. She writes about the shows with an eye on tradition but also an understanding of the atmosphere these shows are created and produced in now.
I loved her column last week, where she talked about the constant death knell for soaps, and I loved, loved, LOVED her response: “F*** that noise!” Perhaps we can get that on a t-shirt, Mala?
I just wanted to tip my hat to Mala. Her column has made Weekly required reading for me again. It’s been a while since Weekly has had thoughtful, critical voices like Mimi and Connie, but Mala’s column is a worthy successor.
A | THOUSAND | OTHER | WORLDS 
It was Soap Opera WEEKLY, not Digest that Corday banned from getting Days info when I wrote a column called “General Hospital is Boring.” He wanted Mimi to retract it because all he thought all soap mags should support soaps. She refused and he cut us off.
Nice column on Mala! But even though I have gone from SOW for years, myself and Marlena are stil writing soap critiques as you well know, dear Patrick. LOLOLOL!
Hi Connie! Of course everyone knows that you and your Thinking Fans are strong! But I think Mala is the strongest writer from the two magazines SINCE you and Mimi were there.
Thanks for clarifying that for me…I knew SOD had some problems with Corday too, or at least I thought, over some covers.
Thanks so much for the hat tip, Patrick! Glad you enjoy my writing!
You’re welcome, Mala! Thanks for stopping by! And I am really glad you said what you did about the “death of daytime.” It needed to be said and heard!