On Thursday morning’s Fox and Friends, Eric Bolling asked why bombshell revelations from the Jodi Kantor book The Obamas, like supposed tension between the East and West Wing and the Secret Halloween Party That Wasn’t A Secret, were “not exposed by the White House press corps.”

Fox News contributor Andrea Tantaros‘ diagnosis: “most reporters” are “lazy and liberal.”

One of the revelations from the new book The Obamas by The New York Times‘ Jodi Kantor that’s getting some unexpected heat (especially on right-wing blogs) is the supposedly “secret” 2009 Halloween party at the White House, which was attended by the likes of Johnny Depp and Chewbacca The Wookie. At today’s White House briefing, Jay Carney responded to the “controversy,” telling ABC Radio’s Ann Compton and Fox News’ Ed Henry that it wasn’t actually a secret at all.

In the world of the microscopic news cycle, a year is a mighty long time. Think “dog years” on steroids. Over the course of the past year, in thousands (around 7,500 ) of articles and millions (between 3 and 4 million) of words, Mediaite has covered the ups and downs of that whizzing, ricocheting media world. In case you lost track in that sea of information, we’ve compiled a list of 2011 Media Winners and Losers that we hope will be the start  of a conversation, not the end of one. Here, in no particular order, are Mediaite’s 2011 Media Winners and Losers.

Soon after news surfaced of ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi‘s capture and killing, freshman Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl) took to Fox News to pointedly congratulate British and French forces, and to criticize President Obama for “leading from behind.”

At Thursday’s White House briefing, Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry asked Press Secretary Jay Carney about Rubio’s remarks, and Carney responded, “I think this is not the day for politics.”

In a sign of the lightning-fast times, President Obama‘s chop-busting exchange with Fox News’ Ed Henry at Thursday’s joint press conference is the star of a new Mitt Romney ad that was released later that same day, and was “exclusively previewed” on Chuck Todd‘s The Daily Rundown this morning. The ad cobbles together bytes of the President and his advisers saying Romney’s name, and as the ad’s title suggests, poses them as a sign that the President is “Nervous” about Romney’s candidacy.

At a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Fox News’ Ed Henry asked the President to respond to a quote from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney over recent actions by Iran, to which President Obama replied, “I didn’t know you were the spokesperson for Mitt Romney.”

Minutes later, Megyn Kelly asked Henry for his reaction, and he defended the question, and said the President “decided not to engage with Mitt Romney, instead decided to kind of go after me a little bit.”

Since becoming Fox News’ Senior White House Correspondent in July, beat veteran Ed Henry has endured several barbs from Press Secretary Jay Carney, but today, it was President Obama needling Henry. At a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Henry asked the President to respond to a quote from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney over recent actions by Iran, to which President Obama replied, “I didn’t know you were the spokesperson for Mitt Romney.”

At Wednesday’s White House daily briefing, Fox News Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry asked Press Secretary Jay Carney to respond to a report that a White House official had “screamed and cussed at” CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson, over the unfolding Fast and Furious story. Carney said he didn’t know about that specific conversation, but elaborated in his response that, in general, “hard-bitten journalists” ought to be able to handle “tough conversations” and “an extra decibel or two in a phone conversation.”

At Wednesday’s White House briefing, ABC News’ Jake Tapper asked Press Secretary Jay Carney about his criticism of GOP candidates for not reacting to the booing of a gay soldier at last week’s Republican debate, and drew a comparison between that incident and the White House’s response to remarks by Teamster head James Hoffa several weeks ago. Carney rejected the premise outright, and in a later email to Mediaite, explains why it’s “not an apt comparison.”

Ed Henry, who made a fast friend in White House Press Secretary Jay Carney upon leaving CNN to become Fox News’ White House correspondent, gave Adweek a very revealing interview about the course his career has taken.

Henry even tackles the media buzz surrounding his switch to Fox News, sharing that he feels his questions are just as tough as when he was at CNN.

Olbermann capped off his “Worst Persons” segment Tuesday night with an excoriation of Fox News’ handling of the Jimmy Hoffa Voter Encouragement Crisis/Incendiary Rhetorapocalypse, and while Media Matters fairly lauded Fox Chief White House correspondent Ed Henry‘s reporting (while condemning other elements of Fox’s coverage), Olbermann slammed Henry as “mediocre,” and falsely accused him of ascribing violent intent to Hoffa.

In the hours since the Jimmy Hoffa Voter Encouragement Crisis/Incendiary Rhetorapocalypse, conservative media figures have looked to the White House to provide some becalming wisdom to a shaken nation. At Tuesday’s White House briefing, ABC’s Jake Tapper asked Press Secretary Jay Carney how Hoffa’s comments fit with the President’s post-Tucson remarks in January.

A quote from Teamster President James Hoffa is making the Labor Day rounds, particularly on the right, as evidence of the kind of “violent rhetoric” that President Obama denounced in the wake of January’s shooting tragedy in Tucson. In an abridged version of the quote posted here earlier, Hoffa says, of the Tea Party, “Let’s take these sons of bitches out,” but according to CNN, Hoffa prefaced his remark by saying, “Everybody here’s got a vote,” which narrows the comment’s meaning.

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest delivered a rare on-camera briefing from Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday afternoon, and in addition to a raft of newsworthy topics like Libya and the President’s upcoming speech on job creation, he fielded several questions about whether the President was considering ending his vacation early. He was also asked if the President felt yesterday’s earthquake, and his reply on both counts was, in short, no.

It’s town hall season, and the Congressional Black Caucus is the first this year to get a mouthful from frustrated constituents on the economy. In a clip that quickly made the rounds in the news cycle, the panel meeting the Detroit crowd yesterday defended the President’s work, but with a bit of malaise, as Rep. Maxine Waters argued they were “getting tired” and “don’t know why on this trip… he’s not in any black community.” That the President is having trouble with his most loyal constituency is already being touted as a sign that 2012 isn’t going to be a Democratic cakewalk.

Within hours of being hired by Fox News, White House correspondent Ed Henry found himself in the crosshairs of Fox-hunting media watchdog Media Matters, who published a thin batch of research suggesting conservative bias. Scant weeks later, Henry seems to have earned his way (at least temporarily) off of the group’s s#%t list, pretty much the same way he got on it: by doing his job.

Fox News’ new White House Correspondent Ed Henry spoke with Don Imus for the first time and wasn’t shy about admitting just how happy he is to be working at Fox and how amusing he finds some of the criticism. Imus teed up Henry’s response by asking “when did you come over from the dark side, CNN” and Henry didn’t disappoint by making it clear what team he is on now.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed Friday morning, conservative columnist Peggy Noonan channeled her inner middle-schooler, calling President Obama a “loser,” and likening White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to a “ferret with flop sweat.”

While there are people on both sides who might foresee the inside of a gym locker in the President’s future, Noonan’s current conclusions about the debt ceiling negotiations are based on complete nonsense. Noonan appeared on Morning Joe to defend her comments.

One of the more fascinating subplots to the ongoing news narrative surrounding the debt crisis debate is the now daily tête à tête during the White House press briefings between Fox News correspondent Ed Henry and Press Secretary Jay Carney. Today’s episode avoided the past accusations of cable news bias, but still delivered some entertaining moments, most notably Carney’s assertion that the House GOP wants to “stick the president with default,” which he deemed to be “incredibly juvenile.”

Count Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren among those upset at the way White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to the network’s new White House correspondent, Ed Henry. You’ll recall that, earlier this week, Henry asked Carney, rather bluntly, “What was the point of giving a prime-time address to the nation, without an Obama plan?” Carney, upset, accused Henry of bringing up a “Republican talking point.” The next day, Carney circled back to Henry’s question while responding to another reporter and told Henry that “I know you’re creating…you’re creating a thing here for Fox.”

Now, Van Susteren is coming out in her colleague’s corner through her blog, even calling the White House’s treatment of Henry “pretty petty.”

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney welcomed correspondent Ed Henry to the Fox seat by calling his question a “Republican talking point,” and touching off a heated series of exchanges. At Wednesday’s briefing, Carney seemed to be spoiling for a continuation of the fight, referencing Henry in the answer to another reporter’s question. Henry obliged, asking Carney when the Obama debt ceiling plan would be submitted to the CBO. Carney went on to accuse Henry of “creating something for Fox.”

Newly-minted Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry started off his first post-CNN briefing with a bang today, asking Press Secretary Jay Carney “What was the point of giving a prime-time address to the nation, without an Obama plan?”

The question touched off a rather heated set of exchanges in which Carney pushed back against the “Republican talking point” that there’s no Obama plan, and several reporters pressed the issue.

CNN has named Jessica Yellin its new chief White House correspondent, replacing Ed Henry. A CNN insider tells Mediaite Yellin has been the network’s choice since Spring. Yellin had been serving as the network’s national political correspondent and as a fill-in anchor on programs like Situation Room. In her new role she will lead the network’s political coverage from the White House as President Obama seeks a second term in office. Yellin begins her new role today.

The normally sharp Howard Kurtz really missed the boat in his rundown of the recent Jon Stewart/Chris Wallace interview, and Politifact-ual aftermath. On Sunday morning’s Reliable Sources, he and his panel missed the mark on Stewart’s response to Politifact’s charge that his assertion about Fox News viewers was false, and when panelist Aaron Barnhart tried to bring up the crucial edit of an exchange about Fox exec Bill Sammon, Kurtz promised to go back to it, but never did.

Ed Henry is on Media Matters’ [Expletive] List now that he’s moved from CNN to Fox News as the network’s chief White House correspondent.

The National Journal suggest the liberal media watchdog may be a little hasty in its attempts to paint Henry as an overtly partisan right-winger.