CNN’s TJ Holmes broke the story with a reporter on sight at a location where, we suppose, Rep. Weiner may have walked by. And neither journalist left out any of the shocking details of this story: “you run your errands, you go to the grocery story, do the ATM,” Holmes recounted, adding more and more layers to the stinky onion that is this story. Among other important details to Rep. Weiner’s wild day in public, supporters, detractors, and reporters alike seemed to have noticed him outside and attempted to interact with him. Truly shocking stuff.

The breathtaking report, if you can handle it, via CNN below:



[h/t]

(H/T Reddit)

Duncan Edwards, Hearst Magazines International’s chief executive, told Peters that he was inspired to launch a Mongolian Cosmo after hearing a Louis Vuitton exec say that his company had just opened a store in Ulan Bator, Mongolia’s capital. Though the nation’s population is small and scatterd, Edwards believes it “has the potential to grow dramatically in terms of its wealth over the next few years”—meaning, of course, that the need to know 25 ways to become a legendary flirt will only grow.

The new publication has a print run of just 7,000 copies and costs 7,000 Mongolian tugriks an issue—about $6.50. Its first issue includes “an introduction to [Cosmo's] modern founder, Helen Gurley Brown,” and a cover featuring Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, who must be just as well-known in Mongolia as she is in the United States. We hope there’s also a Mongolian version of this piece from American Cosmo, “How to Beat the Winter Blues”—we hear that January in the Uvs Lake Basin can be pretty brutal.

Dr. Ducket (perfectly fitting name) was leaving a meeting in Edmonton last week when a group of reporters who ambushed him with questions about the declining state of health care. Ducket, quick on his feet, fought back with the only weapon he had; a delicious cookie. Over the course of two minutes of hilariously bizarre viral-bait, the doctor repeatedly brushes off a gathering group of reporters with claims that he’s just too busy eating his cookie to respond. It’s quite successful. Or, at least, it was until Ducket was fired shortly after.

Still, while Ducket may have lost his job, our neighbor to the north may have actually found a comedy genius to nestle into the giant, deadpan shoes of the late, great Leslie Nielsen. Seriously, this video is almost (not quite, RIP) as funny as Police Squad.

(via Mr. Media Training)

The post, funny enough, is an analysis of a recent Wall Street Journal article that charges Facebook with transmitting its users’ personal information to advertisers and Internet tracking companies. (Side note: this is news, still?) Hill examines the Twitter streams of several tech experts and media types, noting how they reacted to the WSJ piece via Twitter. Here’s a typical paragraph:

“WSJ continues its war against the internet,” tweeted media commentator and journalism professor Jeff Jarvis. He cheekily noted that the Wall Street Journal does not mention that MySpace, owned like the WSJ by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, has the same issue. “WSJ Facebook slam makes no mention of its competitor, MySpace.”

This, of course, isn’t the first time that a reputable news source has turned to Twitter for quotes. Still, it’s strange to see an article that uses tweets exclusively; the post looks a lot more like aggregation than journalism.

Some of the sources Hill quoted have also expressed reservations about her reporting style—using their Twitter pages, of course. NYU journalism professor Adam Penenberg (and author of Viral Loop) for example, tweeted that using Twitter posts rather than quotes “could lead to minor ethical conundrums,” since a reporter can do so without contacting her sources directly.

Naturally, Hill tweeted her own response to Penenberg four minutes later: “I see someone’s Twitter page as a little series of public releases/statements, if they’re not tweeting from a private account.”

When we contacted Penenberg for comment, though, he sounded a lot more positive about Hill’s Twitter-centric methods. “Twitter is a public venue, so using tweets in lieu of quotes worked, especially since she wove them into the story so effectively,” he said.

“The danger would be missing the context of a tweet or tweets, or mischaracterizing the spirit in which they were intended. But she didn’t do that. At any rate, I am all for pushing the boundaries of the art, and this an interesting way to express the views of sources while on a tight deadline. That means it’s inevitable, and I expect Mediaite will be doing some of this real soon.”

Point taken, Professor.

Fisher sat down with Fox News’ Kimberly Guilfoyle to catch America up on her life since we last saw her, when she was merely the minor that brought down random American body shop owner Joey Buttafuoco in the early ’90s (apparently they had silly news cycles back then, too). Buttafuoco, of course, has had a fruitful career as star of Celebrity Boxing and as plaintiff on the Judge Jeanine Pirro show. Fisher seems to have been only slightly more savvy with her unexpected fame, becoming the “victim” of a sex tape and, now, finally, accepting her true calling as a porn star. “At some point,” she explains, “it just seemed like a really good idea.”

Fisher also explains that she is a good mom of three kids, her “children have nothing to do with my career,” that she has “a lot of fans” (perhaps given her charity appearance at a Long Island strip club after the earthquake in Haiti?), and that while she has “moved on” from her past, “it’s the mainstream media that doesn’t move forward.” Ah, that darned Mainstream Media strikes again.

The whole thing is quite bizarre. Guilfoyle actually holds up a copy of Fisher’s porn DVD, Home Shopping Network-style. Fisher calls anyone who claims not to own it hypocrites. Geraldo Rivera seems to agree. Watch the whole thing (via Fox News) below:

The device, designed to keep the wind for hindering vision or tussling hair at high speeds, seems to work fine for the driver, Gastelu explains, but “it’s really the backseat drivers that ‘get the shaft.’” If you know what he means.

At this point, he introduces us to his nameless friend, a hairy, inexplicably shirtless blow-up doll that seems to be some sort of hybrid of Ron Jeremy and Franklin Delano Bluth. The doll goes for a backseat ride (…if you know what I mean) with Gastelu to test out this device. It seems to work for certain speeds, but after about 50 miles per hour or so, he seems uncomfortable as his hair flutters violently in the wind and his Fox News cap precariously holds on to the few remaining strands of artificial hair it can. More uncomfortable? The anchors in the studio, who seem to want to bring up the awkwardness– one has to wonder whether the whole thing wasn’t just a prank on them. But they know better than to ask questions; instead, they’re “just going to keep my mouth shut. My producers told me to.”

The confusing auto segment via Fox News below:

Recently, while walking to a neighboring music store, and still dressed head-to-toe in costume, Trespalacios was assaulted by an agitated customer who didn’t say a word, nor explain why he would attack Elmo. The local news clip reporting on this story can viewed below (complete with awesome recreation.)

As Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan reports, the following email was recently sent out to “the types of people who know journalists”:

My name is Michael Raptis and I am the Casting Director for What Not to Wear on TLC. Casting is currently underway in DC for Season 8. We would love to feature a Female Journalist who stands out from the crowd and not in a good way! The idea of the show is to help a woman who is being held back by her style. Maybe she lost a lot of weight and no longer knows how to dress, maybe she is dressing too sexy and attracting the wrong men, maybe the way she dresses is keeping her from getting a promotion at work…We would love to help! I was hoping you might know the perfect person. I attached a casting notice to this email with all the info on the show and a link to the website. ****REMEMBER THIS NOMINATION MUST REMAIN A SECRET**** I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity when you get a moment. Hope to hear from you soon.
Best,

Michael Raptis
Casting Director
TLC’s “What Not to Wear”

As we all know, a woman can’t climb the career ladder if she doesn’t dress well, so it’s a good thing TLC is stepping in to help one lucky lady’s life. Check out Gawker to see how you can nominate a woman you pretend to care about (but secretly resent) for the show. You’ll have to be able to send in “at least 2 pictures that illustrate her lack of style,” so start combing Facebook now for photos she de-tagged months ago.

Today though, she went a different route. An interview with Jersey Shore phenom and, yes John McCain voter, Snooki.

This comes on the heels of Snooki getting publicly mad at Pres. Obama for the new tanning tax, and an exchange on Twitter between the guidette and Sen. McCain. It was this that led the Q&A between Meghan and Snooks:

Meghan: Have you always been a Republican? And are you still interested in politics?

Snooki: To be honest with you, I’m not really a Republican or a Democrat. I actually signed up as an independent, just because I don’t want to pick any side and also I don’t really know a lot about politics. I only know politics about, like, you know, tanning and being a Guidette. So when I saw it was Obama and McCain, to be honest with you, the only reason why I voted for your father was because he was really cute and I liked when he did his speeches.

John McCain – really cute, according to Snooki. But does he GTL? Later in the interview, we learned of Snooki’s role models:

Meghan: Do you have a personal role model?

Snooki: Um. I wouldn’t say a role model, but I do admire Kendra Wilkinson and Tori Spelling, just because of their family. You know, they’re in the limelight just as much as I am, but they have a husband, they have kids and I think that’s awesome.

Meghan: I love Tori Spelling, too.

There are those who passionately dislike Meghan McCain and those who dislike Snooki with as much venom. This will only serve to reinforce those beliefs. But for those who are a fan of the unpredictable new-Republicanism of McCain and guilty-pleasure-TV of Snooki (like – me), this is quite an entertaining Q&A match-up.

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I don’t want to spoil the fun for you, you’ll just have to watch the video compilation of the breathless coverage.

Here’s a quick glance at the events of this afternoon. At 2:34pmET, it looked like this:

At 2:46pmET, it looked like this:

The end. (By the way, it was captivating – less than a car chase or a dog rescue, but still.)

Here’s a mash-up of today’s coverage:

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“It’s something the maker has been wanting to do for a few years,” the report begins. And it gets funnier from there. Rudolph, run over by a pick-up truck! Seriously. “It’s an expression of my repressed creativity,” says the artist, who claims the display is a comment on consumerism. Oh, and it’s right by a school bus stop. If this isn’t ripe for viral video fame, we don’t know what is.

See Homicidal Jesus and Dead Santa for yourself:

How do you turn a routine home burglary in Florida — in which nothing seems to have been stolen, even — into a story of national import? Easy: weave Barack Obama into it. Even if it involves quoting a burglar who is clearly mentally disturbed.

Hey, it worked for Angelina Jolie…

From the Northwestern Florida Daily News:

A man accused of breaking into a Crestview home and taking a shower reportedly told residents who showed up “President Obama let him in” the house…

…While in the shower, two juvenile children who lived at the house entered with a friend. Thinking their dad was home, one of the children entered the bathroom and “saw a male in the shower who was not his father,” the report states.

“The male in the shower stated ‘Obama let him in’” and told the boy to “get out,” the report continues.

When questioned by police, he said that “the yellow brick road” had brought him there.

Sadly, the burglar’s Obama ploy didn’t work: the kids went to the police. Maybe The One doesn’t have a hypnotic power over America’s youth after all? Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that there was an unbalanced burglar in their family’s shower?

(story via Fark; image from shopsafe)

(h/t TheAwl)

But we got a preview today of one way she’ll be welcomed — with marginalization, jokes and borderline sexist segments.

Friday on MSNBC, Dylan Ratigan spent a few minutes during his Morning Meeting to address, “what is it about Palin that drives America wild?” He and his staff put together a Letterman-esque “Top 10 Reasons America is Obsessed with Sarah Palin.” And you can imagine the direction this goes…

#9? “She’s hot!” #6? Ratigan calls her the “ultimate capitalist” because “she’ll sell anything to anybody for any reason.”

And the number one reason America is obsessed with Palin: “Family drama that makes you feel better about your own.”

This probably won’t surprise a lot of people, and she’s a public figure so it’s not entirely unfair for Ratigan and others to make jokes about her. Furthermore when she’s out on her media blitz – Oprah, a five-parter with Barbara Walters and much more – she’ll probably throw some serious jabs of her own. But look at the way the video was promoted on msnbc.com’s TV front page:

Besides being a pretty degrading image of Sarah Palin, this shot was proven long ago to be photoshopped and fake. So why use it? Well, depending on your point of view, you probably have a guess.

Here’s the segment:

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BREAKING: a state trooper somewhere pulled a car over at a three-way intersection. No one knows why.

Alas, there is not that much more to this story from Hudson, New York’s Register-Star, titled “State Trooper Makes Traffic Stop On Jolsen Boulevard.”

ANIMAL New York contributor Cajun Boy, who dredged the story up from the murky Hudson (do you see what I did there?), writes, “I will give Paul Crossman, the intrepid reporter who filed the story, some credit though…never in my life have I seen a headline that so accurately encompassed the entire story.”

From the Register-Star:

A New York State Trooper pulls over a vehicle near the three-way intersection on Joslen Boulevard in Greenport Monday. The reason for the stop and the outcome of the investigation remain unknown.

Yes, that is the entire article.

(ANIMAL New York via BuzzFeed)

We don’t fault CNN (actually, it’s a People story), but come on CNN.com readers! Anyway, here’s why she loves them so much.

The headline says: “Sherri Shepherd refuses to get a breast reduction.” “I love my boobs!” she says. “I don’t care how old they get and how long they get, I’m going to love my boobs. I’d never get rid of them.”

The relevance here is Shepherd recently completed a three-month weight loss program. And boobs.

Shout-out to Michael Ian Black‘s Twitter feed, where we first saw this (his comment: “She is so brave.”)

Have you seen a “Great Moment in Journalism”? Email me at Steve@Mediaite.com (and check out all the “Great Moments in Journalism” here)…

All the cable news networks have been talking about this upcoming “Beer Summit” taking place at the White House tonight (6pmET! “Red, Light and Blue”!). But only one network took it to the next level – countdown clock.

There’s not much else to say here. I mean, check out that three beer mug graphic.

Get excited for this monumental moment in our country’s history when issues with race relations are solved forever. MSNBC wants to make sure you’ll be there.

> Update: TVNewser notices a late CNN countdown clock as well.

Have you seen a “Great Moment in Journalism”? Email me at Steve@Mediaite.com…

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This is not a joke. In fact, this is a real story on CNN.com!

Jeff Bush of KRON-TV, this is your life: “It was clear that Harry and Pepper had broken up, when Harry moved out of the burrow he shared with Pepper, and moved in next door with Linda.”

Enjoy the jaw-droppingly-detailed video below (via BuzzFeed):

Have you seen a “Great Moment in Journalism”? Email me at Steve@Mediaite.com…

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