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December 30, 2006

You? It Should’ve Been Me

"In the harsh climate of the 24/7 media, in which gossip and controversy are so much more newsworthy than real news, people forget." -UK Prime Minister Tony Blair TIME Magazine’s annual Person of the Year issue hit newsstands recently and readers were intrigued to discover that they’d each been named. At first blush, this felt akin to the competitions entered into by children – “you’re all winners today, there are no losers” a grown-up would happily, breathlessly declare so as to spare the kids from the traumatic experience of losing out in the grade school talent show. And then, there...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 1:04 PM

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November 5, 2006

Right-Wingers’ Hail Mary Attack

On Monday October 23, 2006, on his daily radio show, Rush Limbaugh, the implausibly popular conservative talk show host, controversially criticized actor Michael J. Fox for appearing in campaign ads endorsing Democratic candidates who support stem cell research. His initial disgust was at the actor’s purported exaggeration of his condition. Although Mr. Limbaugh later apologized for the statement when many pointed out that the physical manifestation of Mr. Fox’s Parkinson’s Disease was in fact not deliberately amplified for the sake of the commercial, he did not relent entirely. He proceeded to lambaste the actor for apparently abusing the power of...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 6:27 PM

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September 13, 2006

The Summer of 2001: Take Two

Glancing back at the news headlines of the summer of 2006 – magazines, newspapers, television news, etc – and one theme rings true. We’re back in 2001 again. After 9/11, the nation mourned a horrible tragedy and swore to become less superficial. The summer’s news that year had been dominated by the Cruise-Kidman split and shark attacks (there was not a significant increase in shark attacks, at least not one that warranted the excessive news coverage). Following 9/11, the nation learned that while our federal government was on vacation, literally and figuratively, intel pointed towards a grave threat to the...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 5:56 PM

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September 3, 2006

Fox News vs. The Daily Show: Who’s the Real Fake News?

Geraldo Rivera, the conservative talk show host who has never feared speaking his mind, recently appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, hosted by his equally grating Fox News counterpart Bill O’Reilly. Given the clear lack of availability of serious news, they decide to take pot shots at Comedy Central. Mr. Rivera and Mr. O'Reilly discussed the success of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert respectively. He blasted the shows for being nothing more than a repository of slapstick comedy. The ensuing comedic “apology” by Mr. Stewart on The Colbert Report...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 10:15 PM

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June 18, 2006

Once a Venerable Institution

Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley. Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings. America’s newscasters have generally held a special place in our society – revered by the public, delivering the news of the day with the appropriate emotion, well-spoken and knowledgeable. These figures would come into our homes and bring us the news in their professional voices and provide insight as necessary. Recently, Katie Couric, formerly of the Today Show on NBC, was named the lead anchor of the CBS Evening News. A post long held by Dan Rather and currently occupied by Bob Schieffer, the evening news’ anchor...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 7:46 PM

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May 14, 2006

The Quality of Punditry

Having recently read Moneyball, the excellent book by Liar’s Poker author Michael Lewis, it struck me that the biggest theme that came to the fore and was then underscored in the afterword, was that those self-appointed baseball geniuses who feel most qualified to comment on the game were probably those who were in fact the least well-informed and the least likely to embrace the true reasons behind why the outcome of the game was as it was. A prime example of this was the portrayal of Joe Morgan, the longtime baseball commentarist, as a pundit who believed anything he said...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 5:38 PM

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November 6, 2005

Garden State’s Gubernatorial Debate

Last night viewers tuned in to watch a debate between the two leading candidates in the race for governor. Voters in New Jersey have grown tired of the corruption charges that have plagued Democrats and Republicans alike over the last several years and were likely hoping that the final debate before Tuesday’s election would provide a chance for the dueling candidates put the negativity aside and focus on the issues. However, the tone was similar to that of final debate of the New York Mayoral race—bitter, with several barbs traded back and forth but little clarification of the candidates’...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 11:17 AM

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November 3, 2005

Art Imitates Life, Almost – Part II

On TV’s The West Wing, the source of the leak of NASA intelligence was recently revealed as being Communications Director and pre-election political strategist Toby Ziegler. Upon hearing the news, President Bartlett calls him into the Oval Office. In earlier episodes, the two are shown to have a rocky relationship; but although they are not friends, they greatly respect each other’s opinions and have had heated debates on what is best for the nation. Mr. Ziegler in fact, had been a vocal critic of the President when it was revealed that a life-threatening illness had been hidden from the public....

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 10:19 AM

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October 24, 2005

Sticks and Stones

Recently, on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Mr. Stewart’s guest was Bill O’Reilly of FOX News’ The O’Reilly Factor. One might call Mr. O’Reilly Mr. Stewart’s opposite number at the right-leaning news network, delivering the news with his own particular slant despite his repeated declarations that his show is a “No Spin Zone”. The differences between Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Stewart were stark and immediately noticeable. Apart from their personalities—Mr. O’Reilly’s abrasive manner contrasting sharply with Mr. Stewart’s congenial style—their approaches to reporting the news are polar opposites. While the latter attempts to illuminate his audience via humor,...

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Posted by Sam Clemens at 9:24 AM

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