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Media
April 11, 2007
James Frey: Small Potatoes or Chump Change?
Writers who have been exposed as fabulists and plagiarizers must squirm every time something newsworthy comes along that reminds other journalists of their disgraced colleagues. The most recent forum for public shaming comes in reviews for the movie The Hoax, which is about to come out in theaters. It's the story of Clifford Irving, who deceived editors into thinking that he had somehow gained the trust of the reclusive Howard Hughes and was working on his biography. Here's how the New York Times starts its review of the movie:
Media
April 11, 2007
Newborns for Newhouse
The websites of Newhouse News Service's 26 newspapers require readers to enter their birth year, ZIP code, and gender because "knowing more about our audience will help us provide a better service." Of course, Newhouse can't verify what people enter on the websites of newspapers such as the Oregonian and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Gelf tested how much leeway is allowed. Infants are welcome, but some centenarians aren't.
Media
March 30, 2007
It's Not You, It's Your Article
Here's what appears to be the New York Times's view of the dating world: Really rich folks from elite universities eat expensive food together and discuss stuff like whether the woman should work and where they should keep a summer share. The various revelations about exciting new trends in the relationship world are provided in the form of anecdotes from ridiculous people who sound like close friends of the writers. In the most recent iteration of this theme, we learn that for some people—hold the phone—the type of apartment that their date keeps can be a real deal-killer.
Media
March 22, 2007
Disabled Charismatic Megafauna
Stories about cute animals are a great way to attract readers, but it seems that the BBC has found something even more eyecatching: cute animals with prosthetic limbs. Over the last few years, the news organization has extensively covered the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some of our favorite domestic and wild animals.
Media
March 15, 2007
No Paris Hilton Blackout Goes Unrewarded
You might have heard recently that Paris Hilton could be facing jail time for driving with a suspended license. If you didn't catch that news on one of your favorite celebrity blogs, perhaps the news came from the Associated Press, which ended a self-enforced week-long blackout of all things Paris Hilton just in time to cover the breaking news.
Media
March 12, 2007
Loser Puns, Loser Headlines
Though reviews were mostly negative, there was some disagreement last week over the potential of Fox’s new sitcom, The Winner. Whether a reviewer thought the show was a winner or a loser, nearly every headline used the same uncreative pun.
Media
March 3, 2007
At the End of What Day?
At the end of the day, public figures often use clichés to sound sophisticated and smart. As these phrases proliferate in popularity, they become meaningless and stray far from their original meanings, if they had any. Consider, for instance, "at the end of the day."
Media
February 21, 2007
Salon Headlines? Oh, Yes!
When Salon's recent interview with Yoko Ono was published under the title "Ono? Oh, yes!" it reminded me that last year Salon's own King Kaufman had compiled a very funny list of similar headlines that several media outlets had used in the aftermath of US speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno's Olympic performance in Torino. (For example, the San Francisco Chronicle came up with "OHNO—OH YES! No need to Apolo-gize for gold-bronze finish.")
Arts
February 16, 2007
The King and Queen of Meeting Cute
If you can't bear to watch the new romantic comedy Music and Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, know this: The inevitable love story starts as the leads Meet Cute when (I'm not making this up) replacement plant-waterer Barrymore starts singing words (lyrics) to a melody (music) played by former pop star Grant, who is conveniently suffering from a tragic case of writer's block. I'm capitalizing the phrase "Meet Cute" because that's how its popularizer Roger Ebert does it. (Although, unlike him, I refuse to use it as a noun.)
Media
February 13, 2007
It's a Pity about 'Uppity'
A new Salon piece on Barack Obama details his ascendance from a mediocre—and "smug"—politician to a bona fide celebrity. But an early version of the front-page teaser didn't use the word "smug." Instead, Obama was characterized as "uppity" (check out the screenshot at Daily Kos.) Plenty of readers were upset by the description, Salon quickly changed it, and Salon managing editor Jeanne Carstensen apologized profusely for what she called a "gaffe" in the comments. What's all the fuss about the word?
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