Occupy Wall Street was undeniably one of the biggest news stories of 2011. The movement was an important factor in “The Protestor” being named Time Magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year. Well, the Occupiers are finally getting recognized by another important institution. Yes, that’s right. The American Dialect Society has announced that “occupy” is 2011′s word of the year because of its influence on the global zeitgeist over the past few months.

As we enter the new year, the most important question on people’s mind is whether or not the world will officially end as we know it by next December. But let’s face it, if 2012 is really going to bring about end times (because we should clearly be basing our plans for the end on the Mayan calendar), it’s going to have a tough act to follow. Many people are writing up 2011 as the year of this or the year of that, but let’s keep things in perspective here: 2011 was the year that the world descended into random chaos.

2011 was an exciting year of highs and lows for the media landscape. From Andrew Breitbart taking the podium at Anthony Weiner’s press conference to Seth Meyers ripping into Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the news cycle this year never gave us a chance to catch our collective breath. However, there were only a few news stories that left an indelible mark on the public consciousness.

Today’s edition of The Chris Matthews Show featured a small little awards ceremony to honor the most important political moments of the year. Chris Matthews dedicated the first award to President Obama for his “Best Move” of the year. The nominees for the category were the death of Osama bin Laden, the Libyan invasion, the fulfilled promise to withdraw from Iraq, and his unifying speech to the nation following the Arizona shootings and critical injury of Gabrielle Giffords.

The Los Angeles Times‘ Company Town blog has, as it does at the start of every new year, turned to its various sources to come up with a few predictions about what the near future might have in store for several big names in media. Let’s take a look at a few of their predictions before weighing in with our own thoughts, shall we?

The New Year is here, and with it, the annual exercise in futility that is the New Year’s Resolution. As you stare into the abyss of another 365 days in which to improve yourself, it might help you to know that the figures who make Mediaite go ’round have some things to work on, too. Here’s what we think some of them are saying into the mirror this morning.

So, before you try to shake off that Cold Duck and Four Loko hangover and blearily search for a gym membership you can get out of when you get tired of it after 3 sessions, why not check out our list  of New Year’s Resolutions for Everyone Else?

So this is 2011. Nice. We made it. Happy New Year, people! In keeping with tradition, about a million revelers packed themselves into New York’s Times Square–agreeing to go without access to a bathroom and any semblance of personal space for hours on end just for a chance to see the proverbial ball drop in person, and maybe to catch a fleeting glimpse of New Year’s Eve confetti falling onto the silvery locks of Anderson Cooper.

The fireworks lit up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as Aussies celebrated New Year’s Eve Down Under. An estimated 1.5 million people gathered along Sydney Harbour and in luxury yachts to catch the show–one of the world’s most stunning fireworks displays. The party attracts an estimated billion viewers around the world–as Sydney’s one of the first big cities in the world to hit midnight.

Fox News Channel this morning went over a list of words and phrases that one is not to use in the new year lest one wishes to die a long and horrible death. Released today, Lake Superior State University’s 36th annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness” is compiled using the public’s own input regarding words and phrases that they find “so over” (BANNED). Among the phrases is modern-day bard Sarah Palin‘s infamous creation of the word “refudiate”.

The inevitable “predictions for 2011″ posts are fluttering in the windy back hallways of the internet, and the entries from CNN co-hosts Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker are revealing. The wonky Spitzer opts for fantasy, predicting “Wall Street CEOs take a pledge of poverty – contribute all assets to fund research neurological stimuli underlying greed.”

If you’re somehow still a fan of Jersey Shore, you’ll be tickled to hear that MTV is planning to have Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi climb into a ball that will then be lowered into Times Square on New Year’s Eve. If you, like most sane people, are over Jersey Shore, we’re sorry if you just felt a part of your soul die as you were reading that last sentence.

Oprah Winfrey will inevitably be remembered in totality and not for specific highlights. But with that said, here’s a look at the top ten Oprah moments of the last 23 years, which was harder to come by than you might think mostly due to the fact YouTube has only been around for the last four of those years. Nevertheless! Here are some outstanding highlights.