Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Heir apparent (Olberporn of the Week)
After last night's musings on the state of truth in journalism (even in op-ed, no less) the obvious error became clear: I'd been remiss in not naming names, as it were, of media members for whom truth matters more than A-List DC political cocktail party invites.
Particularly, I'd forgotten one man whose quest for truth is both unassailable and entrenched in snark. Yes, it's Countdown's Keith Olbermann (8 pm EST on MSNBC).
If you don't believe he's a peerless, unrepentant feather-ruffler , check out Howie Kurtz' ragging biased anti-Olberman pap in the WaPo. Not enough to have half of CNN and all of Fox News doing Bush's bidding; Kurtz is upset that, in his words, Olbermann's "disrespecting" Bush. Because anyone caught trying to tell unpleasant truths is automatically painted with the same broad "anti-Bush" brushstrokes. Nevermind that Kurtz' daily writing proves beyond measure just how gratuitously Bush boot-licking saliva drips throughout what should be clear-eyed analysis. Instead, let's smear the one person who doesn't march in lockstep.
Having said all this, I am but saran wrap when viewed through the prism of your amazingly astute minds. So yes, admittedly, this really is nothing more than a thinly-veiled rationale for yet another picture of Keith. (One that, if clicked, doubles in size and really brings out his eyes. Just sayin'.)
My defense for such schoolgirl crush adoration? He'd be nowhere near as hot were he not so intelligent, urbane, snarky and fearless in cutting through propaganda. But since he is all those things. . . Countdown With Keith Olbermann beat CNN's Paula Zahn Now in the key 25- to 54-year-old advertising demographic in the first quarter of 2006, according to Nielsen Media Research. Hence the sudden need for administration apologists in the media (O'Lielly, looking at you here) to slam him, and minor league wingnutters to start kvetching in his direction. After they're done with the misogynistic excoriation of Jill Carroll, that is.
Okay - wanton obligatory Olbermann swooning moment's over. More Olberporn of the Week coming in 7 days or so. We now resume our regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.
Olbermann
