Also, what about Time’s choice for their Person of the Year? Barack Obama - who’s that? Thank goodness it wasn’t some nebulous concept choice this year… And is Obama creating a Democratic power vacuum by creating a bunch of vacancies in the Senate through his cabinet
choices? Is he risking his majority? And finally, yes, we gotta talk SHOES! Is the whole shoe-throwing incident overblown? Could it be national catharsis for a president we’ll never see regret anything? Or is it just hilarious? Tune in to this week’s Wilshire & Washington, with hosts Ted, Teresa, and Maegan, and they just might tell you! - Blaise Nutter, producer

Listen here or use the blue Blog Talk Radio player on the right >>.

Second, Ted, Teresa, and Maegan weigh in on the current issues confronting the Obama administration: Why are so many news outlets reporting the “angry left” is angry with Obama? Is there any truth to this whatsoever and should any of us be surprised at all that Obama might be a centrist (you know, as opposed to the communist anti-Christ)? Teresa and Maegan also talk the the indictment of Illinois Governor Blago - wow, what an idiot - and the ironic role of investigative journalism in the equation as the Tribune goes bankrupt. Perhaps those old media dinosaurs do know a trick or two of the trade. - Blaise Nutter, Producer

Listen here, or use the blue Blog Talk Radio player on the right >>.

“And once that became obvious, we said so, over and over again, all the time. We said it in public, we said it in private. We said it when newspapers hired us as designers, we said it when we were brought in as consultants, we said it for free. We were some tiresome motherfuckers with all our talk about the end of news on paper. And you know what? The people who made their living from printing the news listened, and then decided not to believe us.

So I’m calling bullshit on the Rosenbaum thesis, because no one has been “caught up in this great upheaval.” Caught up? That makes it sound like a tornado. This change has been more like seeing oncoming glaciers ten miles off, and then deciding not to move.”

Giving us some perspective, Ted Johnson offers an exclusive review of Ron Howard’s new film, Frost/Nixon, as well as a portion of an interview he conducted with the Academy Award Winning Director (oh yeah, All Caps) at a recent screening. Don’t skip out and miss Howard’s Nixon impression. Apparently, it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days. Teresa and Maegan also weigh in on the Bush/Nixon comparison, our leaders’ difficulties in admitting mistakes, and the judgment of history.

Now, who you callin’ a team of rivals? Hilary? Really? Didn’t you disagree with her on everything? Yeah, a reporter asked that and what was That One’s response: brushed his shoulders off. It’s like the primaries didn’t even happen. Obama’s got some explaining to do, with his appointment of Senator Hilary Clinton as his new Secretary of State. Will Obama punish the reporters for asking about that? And what about this paradox of our current presidential duopoly, with every time Bush says something, the market crashes? How does that reflect psychologically on the administration, and how will the Mumbai terrorist attack affect Obama’s first real days in office? Is this India’s 9/11? How did the media respond, online and off, and how has it affected the Obama’s transition? All on today’s Wilshire & Washington. - Blaise Nutter, Producer

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player on the right >>.

Annenberg’s fearless new media leader on the future of advertising in digital. VERY USEFUL.

“As I sat in the various sessions contemplating the extensive possibilities at our feet when bold leaders push existing boundaries, my Twitter feed continued to ding on my Blackberry with updates from Romenesko and Jay Rosen: reports of more of the same old MSM coverage of layoffs and predictable navel-gazing about election bias born of the hierarchical point-counterpoint inverted pyramid storytelling model. The irony was biting. What is a journalist if not someone who hopes to enable others with the information they need to solve the problems of our time? To connect individual citizens with their communities? Shouldn’t newspapers be the ones championing this enterprise? 

The American Press Institute is huddled behind closed doors this week in crisis mode discussing how to save the deadwood editions that still turn a profit. You have to wonder if it’s just like watching the unplugged McCain campaign be pummeled by underestimating Web 2.0 technology. Since we won’t know until they publish a report what exactly they’re talking about, I am hoping the API conversation focuses less on redesigns and marketing gimmicks, and primarily on giving advertisers incentives to pay higher CPMs and invest in the redevelopment of dynamic, 21st century newsrooms that connect the distinct expertise of reporters with the emerging wisdom of the crowd. 

This doesn’t have to be a crisis: In fact, it is a time of great opportunity for those who are willing to make big bets — and implement them.”

Full column here.

Yeah, yeah: He’s about to become a father and that makes him an adult. This was obviously a mistake, and you’d be hard pressed to find a teenager in America who doesn’t have ridiculous photos and inside jokes on their web pages.

This is a perfect example of the kinds of legislation we might face in the future surrounding privacy rights online. I’m not sure yet how this form of speech should be legally protected, but I do think it’s irresponsible for news organizations to recklessly expose the lives of teenagers, even if their parents are public figures.

For his part, Levi says the page was a joke in this AP article (via HuffPost):

Johnston, a Wasilla heartthrob, said he wanted to set the record straight.

For starters, he said his much-maligned MySpace page was a joke _ the one that claimed he said: “I’m a … redneck,” and “I don’t want kids.” Johnston said his friends created the page a few years ago and he had nothing to do with it.

In today’s Editor & Publisher I discuss the panel I was on at Northwestern Friday (thx Ellen Shearer for the invite!): 

“Given the inevitable fragmentation of the MSM market and the inundation of “breaking news” in our daily lives, the need for a reliable filter has never been more prevalent. In most social networks – online and offline – there is typically a handful of influencers who lead their peers in suggesting valuable news bits and facilitating activism. For better or worse, these individuals have become our default editors, aggregators and points of distribution.” Read more here.

Former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee announced on his Web site that he has a new show debuting 8 p.m. EDT Saturday and Sunday on the Fox News Channel.

The show is simply titled “Huckabee,” he said.

“I’m sure the name will make it easy for all of you to find it,” Huckabee wrote on his political action committee’s blog.

Fox News Channel spokesman Richard White said that Huckabee’s new show would air on the channel but referred all questions about the show to Huckabee’s agent.

I know that this development will only propagate the spread of extremist evangelical ideas, but I can’t help being excited about it. I just want to hug Huckabee every time I see him. As Bill Clinton said of his Hope, Arkansas, neighbor to a crowded middle school gym in Crystal Lake, Iowa, when I was there back in January: Huck is the only Republican who can give a speech and make a joke. And you’d have to have an awesome sense of humor to hang out with Chuck “Black Belt Patriotism” Norris that much. 

His first guest will be Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who makes my skin crawl. I may have to hold out for the second episode.

From a business perspective, it appears to be a home run. Despite the collapse and resurrection of niche efforts like ESPN mobile service, the power of direct access to consumers via cell phones has skyrocketed as high as the presidential election coverage, with candidates looking to the utility-driven impact of text messaging to galvanize their get out the vote efforts in November. In every meeting I’m sitting in, every conference I attend and every company I advise, we’re talking about mobile media as the next frontier, which has already been established overseas. 

From a user perspective, however, I’m starting to experience fatigue. Although, this may mean that at the ripe old age of 28, I’m already a geezer. Read more here.