I'm fairly certain that at some point this is going to end in tears. Regular watchers of the White House will likely already be aware that both deputy press secretary Bill Burton and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs are now on Twitter. (more...)

webcast We've got a packed Mediaite Office Hours today from Livestream.com's studio at 3pmET. Joining us today will be CBS News' Mark Knoller, New York Times' Brian Stelter and more: (more...)

Probably if President Obama hadn't been averaging one major speech per week for the last twelve months (and at least that as a candidate for the previous two years) than absolutely all eyes would be on the President tonight for the most important speech of his life. But it's hard to get all that worked up about it when the man has been taking over the airwaves on a pretty regular basis for quite some time. One imagines that if tonight doesn't go that well (though the bar has been set fairly low this week) we'll hear from him again in a couple of weeks. (more...)

The year 2009 had many media bright spots, break-out stars, dominating networks and game-changing technologies.  The Mediaite 50 collects the finest, most exemplary innovators and influencers of the year, defining a media moment in time and setting the agenda as we move forward. (more...)

Tweetfinder 'Twas the crack of dawn before Christmas, and one hundred angry, vitriolic (also determined) politicians have aroused themselves at the crack of dawn in order to vote on the health care reform bill that most of the nation may or may not understand, but are willing to fight about anyway! (more...)

webcast It's time for a special edition of Mediaite Office Hours - our final show of 2009 - from Livestream.com's studio at 3pmET. Joining us today will be Mark Knoller of CBS News, A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin.com and more: (more...)

video It's hard to imagine worse timing. President Obama flew to Norway today (according to Mark Knoller he is only the second president to do so) to accept his Nobel Peace Prize, nine days after announcing to the nation that he was sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Has there ever been a more reluctant Nobel Prize recipient? And yet by most accounts Obama managed to pull it off. (more...)

Last February HuffPo's Sam Stein made news when he became the first 'blogger' (though really he's a reporter who writes for a website) to be called on by the President of the United States during a press conference. Many people who follow these things saw it as a bit of a watershed moment wherein the Internet was officially deemed a respectable, trustworthy news source. (more...)

Today is the last day of Movember. That's right, Movember. Don't look for it on your caledar, mofo, unless you belong to some weird pagan sect that can't spell. No, Movember is so named because it's a MOVEment, about MOustaches. If you've noticed your gentlemen friends sprouting wantonly on their upper lips, well, that may be why. Here, we'll let Thrillist explain:

By now you most likely know the essence of Movember: that magical month in which folks all over the world grow moustaches for charity, be they jaunty, distinguished, menacing, filthy, magnificent, wispy, or "other". raise some sweet cash for prostate and testicular cancer research.

video The annual presidential pardoning of the turkey -- perhaps made most famous in this West Wing clip -- has to rank up there as one of the silliest things required of the president (particularly in this Decade of Hell!). It's also, according to Mark Knoller, a recent addition to the president's yearly holiday schedule: (more...)

Is it just that between Twitter and YouTube and livestreaming we are able to pay better attention to White House affairs such as last night's state dinner, or is it just that the Obama's are more fun to pay attention to? Because I for one can not remember so much attention being paid to a state dinner in the past, unless you count the time John Travolta danced with Princess Diana during the Reagan administration. (more...)

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Obama-mania meets Bollywood spectacle as the Washington press corps is going a little starstruck over Obama's first State Dinner with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Washington Post and Politico are devoting special sections on their websites to the event and CNN is already on the story.  Several outlets are planning live video coverage of the dinner and receiving line. (more...)

“And where Mr. Obama's basketball game is showy and often televised, his golf is furtive and off-the-record. He plays with junior aides and discreet longtime friends. There's no press allowed onto the course with him, no cameras -- and few witnesses. A foursome of loyal staffers often plays out ahead of him, clearing the way and trying to ensure no one spies.”

How journalists approach Twitter, and whether they should (or even want to) is still a matter that's up for debate in some circles (ahem, Washington Post!). But what's becoming increasingly clear, and what media types long addicted to the medium already know, is that when used correctly twittering can often add to the power (i.e. readership) of a journalist. Case in point: how many of you were familiar with Mark Knoller nine months ago. (more...)

Meme alert! Get ready for the President's golf game to take the cablers by storm. Let's take a look at the signs. Barack Obama's fondness for golf is not a secret -- anyone who follows a White House correspondent on Twitter knows that their weekends are often spent waiting for the president to finish his 18 holes. This past weekend, however, Obama's favorite pastime got some extra, significantly placed, mentions. The first from CBS's Mark Knoller who noted that Obama has racked as many golf games in his first nine months than George W. Bush did in almost three years: (more...)

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It's official: Chuck Todd's goatee will remain intact. Todd had a running bet with ABC's Jake Tapper that if the Phillies made it to the World Series, he would either shave off his goatee or donate $1000 to the charity of Tapper's choice. After a tense standoff with a razor-wielding Press Secretary Gibbs on The Today Show, Todd went with charity, much to the disappointment of the Twitter community. (more...)

Updated Was anyone not surprised to wake up this morning to news that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize? "In a stunning surprise" was how the Times phrased it. Stunning indeed. Also, why? It may seem like lifetimes but Obama has only been president for nine months! Also, the nominations for the prize closed ELEVEN DAYS after Obama was inaugurated. What exactly has he done to deserve a Nobel Peace prize? No doubt a certain quarter of the right wing will be spending the day pointing out everything he hasn't done. Even the Times seemed to edge toward that thinking: (more...)

Did you miss Muammar el-Qaddafi's (or Gadhafi/Gaddafi/Qadhafi depending on who your media source is) address to the United Nation's General Assembly this morning? It was a doozy. And at 90 minutes long (the time limit is 15, by the way) perhaps best viewed from Twitter, which courtesy of ABC's Jake Tapper, CBS's Mark Knoller, Salon's Mike Madden, Anna Marie Cox, and Politico's Ben Smith and Michael Calderone among others, was distilled it down to its very best parts...with one or two embellishments. It made for the best twitter read I've had since Sarah Palin announced her resignation. Behold. Who knew a former "terrorist" (President Reagan's words, not mine) from Libya could bring out the media funny so well. (Note: Tweets in reverse chronological order.) (more...)

Photos President Obama is currently in Midtown (pictures below!), which according to a number of our readers is a madhouse at the moment, taping his David Letterman appearance to air tonight. CBS's Mark Knoller is apparently in the audience or backstage (or has a super excellent source!) and his tweets this hour are providing a nice preview of what's to come tonight. Also: Spoiler Alert! (more...)

President Obama starts his marathon round of interviews today ahead of Sunday's "el Completo" when he will appear on five networks (but not Fox). On Monday he does Letterman. On Wednesday he addresses the UN. All of this follows last week's joint session address, and this week's 'jackass' remark. So perhaps it shouldn't come as a total surprise that it appears the press is about to dust off and cart out the "Obama media saturation" meme. (more...)

Turns out when President Obama sends out his spokesperson to inform the Air Force One press pool that he wants them to "relax and have a good time. Take walks on the beaches. Enjoy Matha's Vineyard," and furthermore assures them that "nobody's looking to make any news," what he actually means is that one day into his Martha's Vineyard vacation he is going to hold a press conference to announce that he will be reappointing Republican Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman. How's that for relaxing! From here on out the President has no one to blame but himself for all the wound-up reporters crawling around Martha's Vineyard. (more...)

Up until now we were under the impression that CBS's Mark Knoller's twitter was all the POTUS tracking one person could need or want. Following Knoller, following the President, is the next best thing to having the President sign up for FourSquare. Want to know what hole Obama is on in his frequent rounds of golf? Curious what flavor of ice cream the Obama girls ordered? Knoller's on it. However! The Washington Post has decided to take POTUS tracking to another level (is it mere coincidence Knoller is on vacation this week?). (more...)