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 >>.

“Liberals may be understandably ecstatic about the influence the blogosphere has had on the election results, but truly thoughtful and responsible citizens should have reservations about the absence of conservative dialogue. It’s too easy these days to consume self-reinforcing information, whether it’s O’Reilly or Olbermann, Drudge or Daily Kos. If we’re going to overcome the existing culture of ideologues to achieve the “change” we seek, it’s essential that we educate ourselves beyond our own beliefs.”

“Not only do the reporters have little interaction with the candidates, but increasingly they are having little impact on the broad campaign narratives and daily story lines that supply most voters with their impressions of the candidates.

That’s more often taking place in cable studios or on Web sites far removed from the ceaseless grind of the press bubble — in which reporters schlump on and off the plane, in and out of buses and gymnasiums-turned-filing centers, several times a day, dozens of times a week.

… So reporters gripe among themselves, wondering why their news organizations pay tens of thousands of dollars to be shut out.

Officials of both campaigns said they had become exasperated with what they consider the petty controversies or insider minutia that is the obsession of the on-the-plane reporters, and didn’t want to take a chance of creating a story that would override the story they were trying to tell with their staged, scripted events.

… The campaigns’ thinking: They get their message out to local voters, and the questions are rarely hard-hitting. And the interviews are more likely to be about issues or local color, rather than the political conflict that consumes national reporters.

This spotty access is one of the key ways that bloggers and new-media outlets have undermined the ability of traditional organizations to set and drive the campaign narrative.”

I’m not sure that use of the word “undermined” is appropriate here with respect to the blogosphere, nor would it necessarily be a negative given the major failures of MSM to uncover the truth is such important instances as invading Iraq.

While a lot of the usual arguments were being made, Will.i.am stole the show (to much applause) by talking about passion and inspiration. Noting that stepping out politically as he has this year is “detrimental” to his career, he said “I’m willing to take that risk for my country” because he’s been so inspired by BO. He was also convinced that the web would enable more people to connect and communicate without the corporate revenue-driven model that predominates creativity and information. And for my E & P readers, he also argued that entertainment information is a viable source of news (which I’m not entirely convinced on; it really should be more of an entry point).

Since I’m jetting off to The Big Tent now, I’m going to bullet point some other things that stood out to me:

- Rahm Emanuel argued that the web is 2008’s equivalent to Bush’s tactic of mobilizing church groups in 2004. He also said the next step is how the example of BO’s candidacy will lead local politicians to implement new media strategies.
- Charlie Rose asked George Stephanopoulos why the Republicans haven’t embraced the internet (because they’re too busy gabbing on talk radio!!) and he said they didn’t have the right talent, like BO has Facebook’s Chris Hughes.
- SNL guy (sorry I can’t remember your name right now! I’ll look it up later!) said that he is most interested in seeing how comments evolve in 2012, which is one of the things I’m interested in too. They are such a great value in terms of interactivity and expanding the conversation, but they’re expensive to moderate and crowded with drivel.
- I also caught up with WaPost publisher Katharine Weymouth and talked about preserving reporting resources for newspaper brands in the new media realm and she really seemed to get it. She was realistic about the non-competitive nature of the web. She also said she thinks readers will enjoy vertical-driven information, where they can access the things they like most. We both expressed concern with that model, however, that readers would not benefit from the stumbled-upon factor of news they don’t seek out directly. I suggested that it may be made up for through social networking, since friend recommendations and sites like Digg serve as entry point to news you weren’t necessarily tuned into.
- And finally, I was pleased to see my former governor, Gray Davis, working the crowd. I wondered what happened to that guy! Call it a comeback?

I’ll be interviewing Digg’s marketing director on W&W at 4:30, and Digby joins us at 6pm for the regularly scheduled show. And now … off to search for disgruntled HRC supporters!!
UPDATE: My agent notes that SNL guy is Fred Armisen. Thx!!

I’m more of a Mother Jones gal now, but I’m watching Tina Brown’s project with Barry Diller with keen interest. Gawker reported yesterday on how Liz Smith* leaked the news that the site will be called “The Daily Beast,” a reference to “Scoop” by Evelyn Waugh. I might have preferred something more “Fountainhead”-ish, as Gail Wynand would surely have been literature’s first publisher to embrace the task of filtering The Internets’ mob rule. But considering I’m still grumpy about the Poynter reporter who hates the name of my Editor & Publisher feature, I’m going to be open-minded to another person’s creative thought process. 

*Mandatory Liz Smith love here, as she is responsible for my favorite quote and life motto: “Begin somewhere. You can’t build a reputation on what you intend to do.” 

You’re not going to find harsh criticism here of people who name web sites after themselves, but flipping through another great edition of Wired yesterday I felt (OK, a little jealous and) protective of Julia Allison. Maybe she OD’d on Carrie Bradshaw, but her writing and shenanigans are plenty entertaining and nothing shocking in Post-Osbournes America.

It was hard to gauge the sarcasm vs. envy in Wired’s cover story, but it appears to be one of those instances where people feign befuddled scorn over someone’s accomplishments when they’re really just jealous that they didn’t do it themselves. 

I’m burned out on content targeted at younger women that prioritizes dieting, shopping, dating and impending maternal instincts as our primary life objectives. She isn’t necessarily a huge departure from this, which is a little disappointing given her political background and the opportunities she could take to portray women in a multi-dimensional way. But her style is infinitely more compelling than another Cosmopolitan cover line about discovering some man’s erogenous zones and butt-blasting tips to a bikini body at the beach. She’s in the trenches and using creative storytelling with new technologies to get her point across. 

Hat tip. Adding her to my links.