The Cranky Media Guy

You’ve heard, of course, about the CNN/YouTube debate involving the Democratic candidates which aired this past Monday.  YouTube users submitted video questions for the Democrats to answer.  It was a cute gimmick, but apparently S*C*A*R*Y to the Republicans vying to become the Most Powerful Person on Earth.  They’re saying that they’re not sure they want to be part of such a spectacle.  You’ll forgive me if I wonder how a person who is intimidated by Joe Average Voter from Bumfuck, Arkansas is going to deal with Al Qaeda.

Remember the late Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live as Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer?  He was, as the name suggests, a caveman who was unfrozen from an iceberg and went on to become a trial lawyer.  Since he was a caveman, he kept referring (unconvincingly) to his fear of the modern world’s technology.  That’s the Republicans, without the “unconvincing” part.  As they said on Family Guy, the two symbols of the Republican Party are the elephant and an old, fat, white guy who is threatened by change.

OK, I am now going to let you in (sort of) on a secret.  I was actually on that CNN/YouTube debate.  Well, I kind of was and was NOT on the debate.  Near the top of the show, host Anderson Cooper aired very brief looks at some videos that didn’t make the cut.  In case you happen to have recorded the debate, I won’t tell you exactly which non-CNN-approved person I am (or why I was not approveable), but I AM seen on camera, although you don’t hear my voice.  It’s nice to see that CNN has standards; they aren’t going to allow anything silly on their air during a Presidential candidates’ debate.  Oh wait, what’s that?  A question about global warming from a SNOWMAN?  OK, now I’m confused.

Hey, maybe that’s what frightened the Republicans.  They think the talking snowman is real.

Once I tell you that Success magazine has folded for the THIRD time, do I even really need to write any snarky jokes here?  YOU do it, you need the practice.

The third time’s not a charm… Success magazine folds one more time « Mr. Magazine

Do I even need to say it anymore?  For the umpteenth time, sticking Swarovsky (it’s ALWAYS Swarovsky) crystals on a lame gadget and announcing some astronomical price for said bling is THE.  LAMEST.  P.R.  STUNT.  OF.  ALL.  TIME.

Stop, OK?  Just stop.

Bling: Hello Kitty Swarovski Maneki Neto Doll is Yours for $66,000 - Gizmodo

The much-vaunted CNN/YouTube debate among the Democratic presidential candidates went on at 4 PM, Pacific Time.  As I type this, it’s 4:43, which means that the debate is still on and less than halfway finished.

Nevertheless, the Associated Press ran the article I link to below, claiming that the candidates “struggled” with the viewer-submitted questions.  Uh, based on what, may I ask? 

For the record, I am less than tingly when I look at the field of Democrats running for the White House.  That, however, does not justify this ridiculously slanted article, obviously written before the debate even began, into which the “journalist” in question inserted a few quotes.  I thought some of the questions were very good and I saw the candidates deal with them as they deal with any questions put to them.  In other words, some were taken on directly and some were ducked, in my opinion.  Where’s the “struggling?”

Anyone who can look at the media landscape in 2007 America and claim that it is “liberal” is either a Republican operative or brain-damaged.  Actually, that’s not really two different things, is it?

A similar debate among the Republican candidates is coming up next month.  Let’s see if the A.P. runs an article 45 minutes into it telling us how “Presidential” Fred Thompson looks or how pretty Rudy Giuliani was in his prom gown.

iWon News - Democrats Struggle With Online Questions

The publishers have announced that the Weekly World News, “The World’s Only Reliable Newspaper” is shutting down.

Supermarket journalism fans may console themselves with the knowledge that the New York Times, the Washington Post and most of the other news outlets that unskeptically repeated the Bush administration’s many assertions about “weapons of mass destruction” (every bit as real as WWN’s Bat Boy) will continue the Weekly World News‘ tradition of high-quality reportage.

It is  not known at this time if the rumors that Rupert Murdoch is considering hiring the Weekly World News‘ entire staff to work at his about-to-be-acquired Wall Street Journal are true.

Weekly World News Shutting Down (SFScope)