Amid Gloom: 8 Fun Media Highlights for 2009

As I got ready to exit my office at Editor & Publisher, perhaps for the last time, this afternoon, I found myself trying to ignore this sad end to the decade by focusing on some wild and crazy stories that I've covered here this past year. Here's just a sample:

January:

Recalling the gaffes of Bill Kristol when he got axed by The New York Times.

February:

Bruce Springsteen plays Super Bowl halftime--and slides crotch-first into TV camera.

Will Ferrell puts George Bush's penis, super big, on Broadway.

April:

After Jon Stewart savages Jim Cramer, Stephen Colbert goes where other media figures fear to tread in mocking Glenn Beck. Later, Stewart does the best-ever Beck impersonation/takedown on "The Daily Show."

May:

In the Year of Twitter (E&P even made trending topic list when shutdown was announced), one of most fun days was that infamous Donald Trump/Carrie Prejean press conference.

August

Robert Novak died but not before leaving us with a few final words on the Plame/CIA Leak Case: "The hell with you!"

October:

When the media reported, without any evidence, that there really was a Boy in that Balloon. I was perhaps the first to declare it a hoax at Twitter as it happened.

November

When a new poll suggested that more than half of Republicans believe that Obama became president only because ACORN stole the electon, tweeters reacted with even funnier comments.

Happy 2010 to all, and if you really want a Rockin' New Year, check out the trailer for my new Web series, "An Incompleat History of Rock 'n Roll." It's hailed by Rolling Stone's David Wild on this site right now as "the most promising upcoming music video series." So 2010's gotta be better.
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Greg Mitchell has edited E&P since 2002. He was executive editor at the legendary Crawdaddy for most of the 1970s.