Blogumentary [chuck olsen]

I'M SO SORRY SCARLETT

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MEDIA ADMITS: DEAN SCREAM OVERPLAYED

Diane Sawyer writes in The "Dean Scream" -- The Version of Reality You Didn't See.. or Hear on TV: What we heard on the air was not a reflection of the way it sounded in the room. Dean's scream could barely be heard above the deafening crowd. Here's video from the crowd to underscore the point.

Comments from network executives:

CBS News: "Individually we may feel okay about our network, but the cumulative effect for viewers with 24-hour cable coverage is -- it may have been overplayed and, in fact, a disservice to Dean and the viewers." -- Andrew Heyward, President - CBS News

ABC News: "It's always a danger that we'll use good video too much."
-- David Westin, President - ABC News

CNN: "We've all been wrestling with this. If we had it to do over again, we'd probably pull ourselves back."
-- Princell Hair, General Manager - CNN

Fox News: "It got overplayed a bit, and the public clearly thought that, too, and kept him alive for another round."
-- Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO - Fox News

I have to say, I'm impressed that Sawyer went to such lengths to correct the Scream misperception and own up to the media wankfest. Of course, National Review has their heads up their asses. They can't seem to fathom the media trying to correct themselves:

Diane's apology demonstrates that the Mickey Mouse network is much more sensitive to complaints about damaging an ultraliberal candidate with an anger-management problem than it is about presenting an appearance of objectivity.

Shame on you. Do you guys really think they're caving in to a mildly liberal candidate, after they've shafted him at every opportunity? Here's a novel idea: Let's encourage the media to examine themselves!

Jeff Jarvis, still riding his Dean naysayer train, believes the scream was calculated. C-c-c-comedy! *cue chorus line dancers* I'm rather proud of my sarcastic response:

Of course, didn't you hear? That's why Joe Trippi was fired. The campaign had lengthy strategic meetings, voice coaches were brought in, test audiences. Dean's scream was carefully, deliberately, almost mathematically calculated. Just like everything that comes out of his mouth. The man is practically devoid of emotion, incapable of an off-the-cuff remark or reaction. He's a master of media manipulation – television in particular. Really no crowd chemistry whatsoever. Yup, he's a robot.

BRAIN FREEZE

At least I'm not outside waiting for a bus like Lorika, or in Duluth. Or, you know, homeless. Definitely too cold to go tobogganing with Geddy Lee. Sorry Geddy.

David Hasselhoff wants some credit for bringing down the Berlin Wall. "Many Americans joke about my popularity in Germany. But they have no idea how beautiful Europe is and how rich it is in culture and fun and warmth and children. In Germany children have brought me thousands of flowers."

JOE TRIPPI, TRUE BELIEVER

I happened to catch Joe Trippi interviewed by Deborah Norville (of all people) on MSNBC, apparently his first interview since leaving the Dean campaign. He was on his way back home with his wife and pooch. Joe gets choked up several times talking about this campaign, how much he believes in it and the American people's power to take back the country, and yes - Howard Dean. I was getting choked up myself hearing his passion and heartbreak.

Joe Trippi on MSNBC [Quicktime, 10 MB]

Pics from Joe Trippi's farewell party thanks to Jim Moore. "Behind us, Joe Trippi was embracing Matt Gross, tears in Joe's eyes.  I thought about these two guys, getting together more than a year ago, to make something happen in politics.  And they did."

What Joe did right, from David Weinberger.

Happy 10th online anniversary, Justin Hall. I can't remember when I first stumbled across your freewheelin' madman web pages - '94? '95? but it blew my mind.You showed us how personal and passionate you could be in this new world. A naked salute to you, sir.

Oh Dear God - Sony's robot army ready to usurp humankind [RealVideo, via Ratchet Up]

January 30, 2004 at 02:42 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I VOTE FOR DIO

January 29, 2004 at 09:20 PM in Funny Crap | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

MORE DEAN VS. INTERNET

Rhythm Track: Devil Went Down to Iowa, Came Back Beaten - plenty of Dean deconstruction over at Blogging of the President:

Jay McCarthy

Dean's loss is not the Internet's loss. It is simply Dean's loss. The Internet is bigger than Howard Dean and a true Internet lead candidate and Internet infused democracy has yet to be tried. We cannot say now whether it would be effective, but it seems to me to be the natural progression after a history of town meetings and politicians who get support by promising to give people their country back and listen to anyone.

All it takes is someone to turn those promises into actions, or for the people to realize that this government is for them and they don't need to wait for a politician to let them have it.

My head hurts, so I'm not writing a manifesto about this stuff. Yet. Lori probably will though. Here is my comment on Lydon's essay:

Chuck Sez:

Dean didn't kiss up to the media and give them an easy narrative. He didn't fit into one of their easily-categorized boxes, so they had to push him into one of theirs, be it "Internet-wunderkind outsider" or "angry doomed freak."

Of course Dean is partly responsible for his public image, and of course the voters can decide for themselves. But - of COURSE the media is the hugely influential goop between us and the candidates. I look forward to studies that concretely show the negative press mentions of Dean and examine the snowball effect.

Blogs obviously represent a very real - economic - threat to big media. You'd be naive to think otherwise; they'd be naive to ignore it. The revolution will be blogged, if it isn't co-opted first.

I like thinking of the media as a semi-permeable gelatinous goo. It distorts the way things look. It makes my skin feel icky and I hack up bits of media gel. Or maybe it's like being locked in the Matrix slime pod. Projections of our desires are pumped into our brains. When you blog, you yank the tube out of your neck and plunge to the surface, gasping for air.

My God, I've been in a sea of media goop all this time!

Breathe now. Ahhhhh.

jill/txt looks yummy. Observations on Orkut and Pepsi splashed all over the Apple home page. By the way? I've received a few invitations to join Orkut, but am holding out in protest. Someone please tell me why it's worth my time. Which is, admittedly, completely worthless.

January 29, 2004 at 08:48 PM in Current Affairs, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

LYDON DECONSTRUCTS THIS MOMENT

In After New Hampshire, Lydon sums up what we've been clamoring about the last few weeks:

Christopher Lydon

Dean's campaign was a critique of the somnolent self-satisfaction that runs through our housecat press.  And people loved him for it. [...]

    No, the results so far are not about politics.  They're about an assault by commercial media on the very idea of a self-willed, self-defining citizenry.  Howard Dean scares the institutional media out of their wits--not because of who he is or what he might do as president, but because of what he and "Internet democracy" say about them.

MORE:
John Perry Barlow, The Counter-Revolution Has Been Televised
Howard Kurtz, Firing the Manager
Dan Gillmor, Dean Turns to the Ultimate Washington Insider

January 29, 2004 at 10:34 AM in Current Affairs, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

DEAN LOSES JOE TRIPPI

Longtime Associate of Al Gore Takes the Helm. Holy crap. I'm in shock. Joe Trippi was the heart and soul of this campaign, and largely responsible for the incredible success of the Internet campaign. When Dean uberblogger Mathew Gross showed up at Dean HQ unannounced, Trippi hired him on the spot. I pet his cute dog for chrissakes. (That's Kasey, "Director of Kanine Outreach.") Good luck Joe.

This is make-it or break-it time for Dean. I guess Joe Trippi doesn't answer to anyone but Dean and the Dean supporters. Let's hope Roy Neel can turbocharge the Dean Machine. (Err, should Dean really be taking campaign advice from Al Gore?)

Joe Trippi

I’m proud of all of you and the work we have done together. I may be out of the campaign but I’m not out of the fight. Don’t give up -- stay with Howard Dean’s cause to change America.

Man, this really bums me out. I don't wanna take the medicine, it tastes icky!

Slate explains: Wait, Dean has the most delegates?

David Weinberger's new Corante blog: Loose Democracy

I'd sure like to attend the Digital Democracy Teach-In

Hooray! SXSW Blog open for business. Who's going?

January 28, 2004 at 07:48 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

LORIKA UNLEASHED: THE VIDEO

Are you ready? Here's my hastily assembled video of Lori's ascendancy to bloghood over the last two days. I'm so proud. One of the things that sparked her was the anti-Dean bias that pretty much pops up wherever you look. Which came first, people's attitudes or the media bias? Either way, here's Lori's attitude: Lori's Blog Revolution [Quicktime, 13 MB]

This Sesame Street song makes me so happy! In Your Neighborhood [MP3]

January 28, 2004 at 09:11 AM in Blogumentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

THE BEAST

This is the best song. The King of France, The Beast [MP3].

So I've been up all night working in an iTunes haze. Liz Phair "H.W.C." and OutKast "Hey Ya" remix? Oh my. Puffi AmiYumi. Yes. Gimme.

January 28, 2004 at 04:53 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack