19) GINNING UP A FAUX-POPULIST MOVEMENT: THE NEW "FAIR AND BALANCED" In January — three months before the Fox News–sponsored "tea parties" become the conservative equivalent to "pet rocks" — Fox News executive John Moody vows that his network will cover President Obama objectively, just the way it covered President George W. Bush.
20) DON'T GET HIM STARTED ONSESAME STREET FANS Visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico, to drum up support for that city's public television station, David Brancaccio — host of Now on PBS — alienates millions of prospective viewers by telling the Santa Fe Reporter: "The bigger TV you have, the dumber you are. Smart people have TVs, often — but not very big ones."
21) OR YOU COULD JUST RENT THE PAPER FOR A DAY The Washington Post plans a series of "salons" at the home of publisher Katharine Weymouth, at which lobbyists and other sponsors forking over up to $250,000 can chat with congressional leaders, members of the Obama administration, and Post journalists. After the arrangement is reported by Politico, the events are canceled; Weymouth and executive editor Marcus Brauchli respond (not all that convincingly) by attempting to blame the Post's marketing department.
22) MISPLACED PHOTO OF THE YEAR The Washington Times Web site accompanies a story headlined "36 Chicago area students killed sets record" with a photo of Obama's daughters, who are a) alive and b) don't live in Chicago.
23) O'RYAN JOHNSON, MEET HENRY ALLEN After Washington Post assignment editor Henry Allen accuses his "Style" subordinate, reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia, of co-authoring the second-worst piece he's seen in 43 years, Roig-Franzia reportedly replies: "Henry, don't be such a cocksucker." Allen then shoves Roig-Franzia and punches him in the head.
24) BETWEEN THEM AND CHRIS SURETTE, THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM IS IN GOOD HANDS The Harvard Crimson — launching pad for such eminences as David Halberstam, Hendrik Hertzberg, and J. Anthony Lukas — loses some of its luster when a juvenile screed sent by outgoing staffers to their nemeses on the paper's business board is published at ivygateblog.com. The missive's core is an angry, Schwarzeneggerian acrostic: F uck you. U gly — Yeah yeah you ugly C um — after your circle jerks you have together, all over [redacted]'s face K ill — the action you performed upon the only institution that has ever accepted you Y ellow Fever — What half of you have, you sick fucks. O h — oh, oh, oh, the screams of [redacted]'s orgasm from group-fisting heard from the Quad during deliberations U surp — the only thing that can save the Crimson now
25) IFGQ HAD DONE THIS, IT NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD THAT WHOLE "PUTIN" PROBLEM The Dallas Morning News announces that some section editors (as in "editors") will now report to sales managers (who've been rechristened "general managers") — an arrangement that may be replicated at parent company A.H. Belo's other papers, including the Providence Journal. Adios, newsroom independence.
26) WHICH MEANS SHE PLAGIARIZED SOMEONEELSE After a grammatically complex paragraph written by "Talking Points Memo" founder Josh Marshall appears nearly verbatim in a column by the New York Times' Maureen Dowd, Dowd apologizes, explaining (?) that she'd gotten the content from a conversation with a friend and assumed it was that person's original insight.
