Media Apocalypse; Why We’re Stupid Enough To Elect President McCain

WTF? I mean, who could this possibly be that important to??

CUTE AND CUDDLY PAYS THE BILLS: A total of 2.6 million copies. That’s how many newsstand issues of People with the exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s newborn twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, have sold, according to sources close to the magazine, citing early sales estimates for the issue. People and Hello reportedly snatched up the exclusive baby photos for a wallet-busting $14 million, the cost split between the two in some manner. People scored the domestic rights for the images; Hello bought the international ones. 

The issue is the biggest seller in seven years, and is the fourth highest newsstand seller in the magazine’s 35-year history, behind the Sept. 11 issue (4.1 million single copies), the issue covering Princess Diana’s death (3 million) and the one covering the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. (2.8 million). The June 19, 2006 issue with the exclusive baby pictures of Brad and Angelina’s first daughter, Shiloh, moved 2.2 million newsstand copies (perhaps the extra Pitt-Jolie baby provided a bigger draw this time).

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And this guy (was gonna call him a putz but as a guy, I don’t feel like insulting penises): Maybe he got the axe because he was freaking stupid and a little crazy? Oh, wait, he is but it’s his then-lover’s fault, not his.

A former Los Angeles Times editorial page editor sued his ex-girlfriend Thursday, alleging that the public relations executive had cost him his job at the newspaper and tarnished his professional reputation.  

Andres Martinez resigned from The Times last year after revelations that his then-girlfriend was doing public relations work for Hollywood producer Brian Grazer at the same time that Martinez had tapped Grazer to be a “guest editor” for the paper’s opinion section.

An attorney for Kelly Mullens, who was romantically involved with Martinez for about two years, called the lawsuit “meritless and clearly frivolous.” She said it was filed in retaliation for a temporary restraining order Mullens obtained in April after Martinez stalked her and sent her threatening e-mails and text messages.

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NBC News thinks it’s the sports or entertainment division, but not the news division.

A magazine gives an award for excellence to a non-existent restaurant because its editorial department is just too dumb and/or lazy to makes a few calls and/or go online for a couple of minutes of research.

Oh wait, the editor cobbles together an excuse for the magazine’s ineptitude. Me, I’m not persuaded but I’m only a blogger, not the editor of a prestigious magazine that has set itself up as some sort of arbiter.

And look, here’s the Washington press corps doing its job — not:

Chris also said of media coverage, “It never seems to matter that John McCain is the wealthier candidate and represents economic interests that are in many ways aristocratic; it’s always Barack Obama who is the ‘elitist.’”

So it was amusing to pick up today’s Washington Post and read this:

Sen. John McCain’s inability to recall the number of homes he owns during an interview yesterday jeopardized his campaign’s carefully constructed strategy to frame Democratic rival Barack Obama as an out-of-touch elitist and inspired a round of attacks that once again ratcheted up the negative tone of the race for the White House.

So even though McCain’s wealth is hardly a secret, it took a verbal gaffe by the candidate, and information about his real estate holdings provided by the Obama campaign, for the media to figure out that McCain is rich.

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Big Media is succeeding one way: By the came they truly and completely collapse, no one will have cared it because it will have been years since they performed any sort of public service. The only loss will be those of whom who lose their jobs.