Saying Goodbye to The CineFiles

Dear readers and viewers,

The final episode of The CineFiles aired last week. After a year and 26 episodes, my co-hosts, journalist Chris Hrapsky and critic Jamie Rogers, agreed that we should end the show. I’ve received some questions about why we made that decision, so I’ve tried to explain below.

The CineFiles started with Jamie, who works as a director-producer at KARE 11, Minnesota’s NBC affiliate and home to The CineFiles. She’s also a talented film journalist who has written for The Playlist, providing movie news and reviews. Jamie produced some of my Saturday morning appearances on KARE 11, which I’ve been doing since early 2023 (I appear about once a month to give quick movie recommendations). The station was looking for “content” to air on its streaming app, KARE 11+, so Jamie thought we could put together a movie-themed show.

If you’ve never seen an episode, The CineFiles featured Chris, Jamie, and me sitting on director’s chairs in a white void, casually reviewing new releases and some hand-picked recommendations, which we called CineGifts, in a half-hour format. Chris was the resident movie fan, enthusiastic about movies and eager to learn more. Jamie was more attuned to the modern film conversation, keeping up with discourse in media journalism, movie news, and social media chatter. My contribution was that of a film historian and expert, offering informed commentary on film history and aesthetics. 

Together, we had a dynamic that was casual, accessible, and appealed to all sorts of movie fans. It was certainly a different approach than my usual voice on DFR, but I had fun experimenting with this style of film criticism in a new medium. 

We started the show a year ago as a local Minnesota series and received positive feedback. After a few episodes, KARE 11’s parent company, Tegna, decided to expand the show’s reach to its 51 markets around the United States. A few months after that, the show had millions of impressions. We were all very excited about its success and that people were watching at home (even if our YouTube presence never quite popped). 

So, what made me walk away? It’s not my place to comment on Chris and Jamie’s reasons, but from my perspective, the reason I left is simple: Neither KARE 11 nor Tegna would compensate me for working on the show, stating that the station doesn’t pay “guests.” I accept this reasoning for my short appearances on KARE 11’s Saturday morning show, in part because talking about a couple of movies for five minutes doesn’t require much effort on my part. However, as a co-host of The CineFiles, I was not a “guest.” In addition to co-hosting, I contributed by writing copy, arranging screeners, and helping to plan episodes. Preparing to co-host a 24-minute episode every two weeks and recording for around an hour is much more involved than readying myself for a short segment on a weekend morning show.  

I initially felt that the opportunity to reach a larger audience, first in Minnesota and then across the nation, was too good to pass up. How many other independent critics get a chance like that? I believed the experience would help shine a light on Deep Focus Review and direct more traffic to my website, which it did. The arrangement was an “in trade” relationship when we started, in which the station got content for its new streaming platform, and I received considerable exposure for my independent film criticism website. It was naiveté on my part to think the station would change its position if the show became a success.

Given how well The CineFiles was performing nationally, and knowing that both the station and its parent company were earning ad revenue from the show, yet neither chose to compensate the people creating it, I could not continue in good conscience. 

Although I must commend those in charge at KARE 11 for giving us the freedom to experiment with what became a nationwide streaming show, we didn’t receive support in other crucial ways that could have made the show an even bigger success—a budget or even a unique social media profile to help promote the show. Our production was scrappy and self-made in a sense, and we put a lot of effort into making it work. I also understand that many of the station’s decision-makers were unwilling to make any budgetary decisions due to a possible acquisition of Tegna by another media group, NexStar, and the uncertainty surrounding that merger. However, corporate transition doesn’t erase the need for fair compensation. 

Had we kept going, I think it would have continued to develop into something special. That would have made not getting paid sting even worse. Nevertheless, I will always be grateful for the experience. I learned a lot about television production from the show thanks to Jamie, Chris, and director-producer Dan Crowe. The CineFiles also helped me work through some (but definitely not all) of my anxiety about being on camera. And it introduced me to a new audience, whom I hope will continue following my written work. 

Growing up, I used to watch Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on At the Movies, and then Ebert and Richard Roeper’s show that followed. When I started Deep Focus Review, I dreamed of having my own movie review show. Given that film criticism has become less essential to culture since Ebert’s passing in 2013, and many critics today rely on web-based platforms such as blogs and YouTube, no one has been able to replicate Ebert’s level of popularity and success. It seemed unlikely that I would ever get the same opportunity. 

From that perspective, The CineFiles was almost a dream come true for me, which ended not bitterly but disappointingly. I’m proud of our conversational, often awkward little production. And I remain confident that it could have been an even bigger hit, had the show received the financial and structural support it needed.

If you saw the show, thanks so much for watching. If not, episodes are easily searchable on YouTube or on DFR. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Brian Eggert
Critic, Essayist, Founder
Deep Focus Review