Weinergate: How Various Papers, Websites And Networks Served Us Weiner

In the usual absence of any real, meaty (not a pun, thank you) political stories each summer, it's usually something completely absurd, wild and/or scandalous that captures the attention of the media and the general public. Summer of '11 has, so far, been a Summer of Weiner. The so-called "Weinergate" scandal has been the gift that keeps on giving, as far as many media outlets have been concerned, and it's interesting to see how each has managed to put its own spin on the story. Let's take a look at how they (and, yes, we) managed it, shall we? New York Post This kind story was, basically, tailor-made for New York's most notorious rag. If The New York Times is the (wonkily left-leaning) crown jewel in this city's media crown, then the New York Post is its jester's hat. Entertaining, shocking, unabashedly vulgar and, despite it all, begrudgingly beloved. I mean, come on! The puns, people! His name is Weiner: "Disgusted Democrats letting Weiner shrivel" "Weiner likely to endure a rough sex probe" "NYers: You'll never be Mayor 'Crotch'" New York Times The NYT has approached the Weiner scandal with its typical mix of straightforward reporting and op-ed pieces, all with the sort of florid prose we've come to expect from the Lady Most Gray: Those elders must be hoping to heaven that Mr. Weiner departs before the machinery of investigation is gassed up and rumbles toward the Internet Protocol addresses where he composed his epistles. They even had a characteristically classy take on the fact that the man's name is, you know. "Penis:" We Weiners, though, are eminently adaptable. It’s a survival thing. At some point, my father, Seymour, changed the pronunciation of our family name from WEEN-er to WHINE-er because, really, who wants to be known as Seymour WEEN-er? It was a Faustian bargain, to be sure, but a wise one. At least that’s what I thought until “Saturday Night Live” aired a popular skit about a couple named Doug and Wendy WHINE-er. They would speak, of course, in grating, whining voices that my classmates parroted whenever they pronounced my last name, which was often. Those were difficult years. It's hard, sometimes, being a Weiner. >>> NEXT PAGE: Is Mediaite obsessed with all things cockamamy? Mediaite Here at Mediaite, we've doggedly been doing our part to cover the Weinergate scandal since its earliest... stirrings... over Memorial Day weekend. Gawker ...Much to the chagrin of the folks over at Gawker, apparently. That said, the site did take time to note the similarities between Weiner's scandal and that of Rep. Chris Lee, whose topless Craigslist ad was first revealed by Gawker. Actually, the site is pretty much chock full of Weiner, as a glimpse at their "Weinergate" tag will show. Huffington Post The Huffington Post, what with its stable of writers and various verticals, has the resources at hand to tackle the Weiner story from various angles (Shut up.), including a "Weiner Supercut" video chronicling other media outlets' fascination with the story. Meta: TMZ TMZ, the scrappiest and most self-aware of all gossipmongers, has put its stamp on the Weiner story by focusing on the various women with whom the beleaguered congressman enjoyed online flirtations and deeply awkward cyber sex, paying special attention to blackjack dealer Lisa Weiss. Not content to leave all the fun puns to the NY Post, TMZ has crafted its own share of suitably delightful headlines. Like this one. >>> NEXT PAGE: Which cable news outlet gave you the most satisfying Weiner coverage? Don't be shy. CNN Let's just be honest with one another, shall we? Can we all just admit that we were only waiting to see what In The Arena host, and fellow former philandering New York politician, Eliot Spitzer would say about all this? Fox News Fox News, more than any of its rival networks, devoted a portion of its scandal coverage to Andrew Breitbart, the man who first brought real evidence of Weiner's many indiscretions to the public eye, even as he was initially ignored by much of the mainstream media. Bill O'Reilly asked him if he was afraid for his life. Meanwhile, Glenn Beck is afraid for America. MSNBC Over on MSNBC, Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough decided to poop on the entire party, Chris Matthews needed "sexting" explained in between wondering whether Weiner's wife was partially responsible for driving her husband into the inboxes of strange women. Oh, and Ed Schultz was all "Dude. Bro. Resign, maybe?"

Weinergate: How Various Papers, Websites And Networks Served Us Weiner

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Weinergate: How Various Papers, Websites And Networks Served Us Weiner

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