As you all know, we here at Mediaite are desperately insecure and do everything we do purely for the positive reinforcement. That’s why we’ve never, ever, ever read our own comments section (there are mean people down there!). Fortunately, every once in a while, if we’ve been good, the big boss man sends us a nice email talking up our traffic numbers. However, that’s not enough for us. We crave more. So, like an obnoxious Ivy Leaguer “casually” dropping their alma mater into conversation, we’re going to “casually” mention the email Dan Abrams sent out today…by publishing it in full on our site.

You may or may not have heard yet, but Mediaite is losing Colby Hall, the only Managing Editor it has ever known. While Hall and Mediaite founder Dan Abrams have already had their say, the well-oiled cogs in the Mediaite machine still haven’t had their turn. As the last of the Mediaite O.G.s, it falls to me to guide this exercise, and to send Mr. Hall into the after-Mediaite-life with a full understanding of what he has meant to us.

When we launched Mediaite in July of 2009, there were a lot of naysayers out there expressing confidence that we would quickly and embarrassingly fail. After all, they proclaimed nearly in unison, who needs “another media site?” If Mediaite had been just another “media site,” like some other struggling New York based publications and web properties, they might have been right. But they never got what Colby Hall understood from the beginning, the chance to cover the intersection of media and politics in a way that has never been done before.

It’s with mixed emotions that I bid farewell to the thrilling role of Managing Editor at Mediaite. While I am very excited about my new opportunity on the digital side of corporate media behemoth Clear Channel (the details of which will be forthcoming in the next week or so), I am sad to walk away from this labor of love, overseeing an influential and successful site and playing the part of post-modern disc jockey to the daily political news narratives that makes up the media zeitgeist.

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.

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.

For the past three years, I have completely dedicated my life to developing, launching, and managing Mediaite.com. Please forgive the cliche, but it has truly been a labor of love — nearly every single minute has been challenging and rewarding. It is with truly mixed emotions, then, that I announce my plans to step down as Managing Editor, to embark on a very exciting new career chapter at the beginning of next year.

After the holidays, I will begin work in a senior-level position at the NY offices of Clear Channel. The details of my new role will be revealed in a few weeks, but I hope to bring some of the success we’ve enjoyed at Mediaite in terms of relevance, buzz, and creative content to a completely different, significantly broader, and more corporate platform.

Early Saturday morning, Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren took to her blog and wrote a post suggesting that Mediaite is on CNN’s payroll because of a ratings story on Anderson Cooper‘s show Thursday night. At the heart of her argument was the fact that she beats Cooper regularly in the ratings, but that the post chose to focus on Cooper instead of her.

Every once in a while, BuzzFeed — aggregator of all that is fun, weird and puppy-related on the web — will offer its readers a peek into the offices of various media outlets. This time around, they’re showing off various pieces of art work from the likes of Playboy, Red Eye, Nickelodeon… and Mediaite!

TheGrio.com editor and cable news rising star Goldie Taylor spoke with Mediaite recently about her many notable high-profile television appearances, her politics, and her upcoming news and opinion website.

As part of our one-part series Project: In Vino, Mediaite set out to capture media elites, gathered to fête Hardball host Chris Matthews‘ Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, in their alcohol-lubricated natural habitat, and maybe to drink some of it ourselves. With the aid of a hidden camera, I ventured to MSNBC’s book party Tuesday night to tear the lid off of this den of open bars and Wagyu beef hors d’oeuvres.

On The Factor Thursday evening, host Bill O’Reilly quoted a little ol’ website of which you may have heard: Mediaite. In a segment about what “2012 is all about,” O’Reilly made referred back to his appearance on The Daily Show yesterday night, calling host Jon Stewart “the face of the progressive movement as stated today by the website Mediaite.”

With the “fall” of Texas Governor Rick Perry and the rise of Herman Cain, the bizarre side quest the media has undertaken of trying to convince New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to hop into the race has been at the forefront of many headlines. Naturally, what the ultimate opponent any of these candidate would face has to say on the matter is worth noting and, to that end, we sent out own White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher to ask President Obama just what he thinks about the rumored Christie run.

Over the weekend, President Barack Obama delivered a speech at a Congressional Black Caucus event asking for his support to pass his much-touted jobs bill, where he asked of the crowd to “stop whining” and get behind his proposition. The “stop whining” soundbite made the rounds in the media, of course, as a rebuke of the CBC, but on her program tonight, Rachel Maddow argued the President’s speech was actually rousing and inspiring, and received widespread praise from the audience the media claims was getting harangued.

On his radio show today, conservative media giant Rush Limbaugh gave President Obama backhanded credit for spunk, saying that he has “shot his wad,” and that the only way the President’s address before a joint session of Congress next week could live up to expectations would be if he resigned. Disturbing porn imagery and possible Mediaite copycatting aside, the already-high expectations for the President’s speech have been ratcheted up by the scheduling machinations, and they will be nearly impossible to meet.

In teasing The Ed Show‘s nightly “Psycho Talk” segment, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz challenged Mediaite and Politico to demand a correction from Rush Limbaugh and Fox’s Sean Hannity, presumably with the same volume we highlighted Schultz’s edit of Gov. Rick Perry‘s “big black cloud” remark. According to Schultz, Hannity and Limbaugh each recently misstated the unemployment rate that President Obama inherited from President George W. Bush. Fair enough, let’s take a look.

The political world is still reeling from the intense Congressional debate that pushed America to the brink of default, and trying to find just who to blame to make sure it doesn’t happen again. On last night’s The Big Picture, Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher took on the subject with host Thom Hartmann, arguing that the Democrats were “cute” in their naivete and could never pull off such a stunt because, with Republicans, “there’s nothing you can threaten them with.”

Mediaite has exclusively obtained this note sent from Dan Abrams to the staff of his sites about their traffic numbers. Well actually, it ended up in our inbox and we just thought it was pretty cool.

The month of June was a banner month for Mediaite.com. With our two year anniversary approaching, Mediaite enjoyed nearly 3 Million unique visitors to the site; throw in syndicated content, and that number jumps to just shy of 6.5 Million unique visitors who viewed branded Mediaite content in the last thirty days. This, in just our 24th month in the marketplace.

Eric Bolling is not afraid to show his enthusiasm. His judgment, however, on what, when and where are the most appropriate times to share his enthusiasm is questionable at best. Take for example his recent comment on his personal Twitter feed that celebrated his current standing on the Mediaite Power Grid compared to the standing of the recently departed CNBC host Mark Haines. In fairness, he did qualify the comment with “no disrespect mean to his old friend…” So, at least there is that.

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?

We at Mediaite have long been proud of the garden of commenters that we have grown over the years. We deeply appreciate those of you who take the time to post intelligent, thought-provoking comments. You are the flowers of our lush, if cacophonous, garden.

However, we’ve recently noticed (as I’m sure you have) an influx of weeds (and not the good kind). These weeds are choking our garden. When you post inappropriate comments, you not only destroy the platform for intelligent conversations, but scare off people who would have made comments that contribute positively to the site.

We get that a lot, actually. Gawker‘s Jeff Neumann took a shot at Mediaite Thursday morning over the length and girt of our coverage of “Weinergate,” noting that “other stuff is happening that might be considered so newsworthy,” and laying the blame at the feet of Mediaite founder and publisher Dan Abrams. While we’re glad [...]

Editor’s note – Greta Van Susteren recently published a post that was critical of a Mediaite ratings post that pointed out that her recent (and historic) live broadcast from North Korea did not garner great ratings in demo. She called the post “so un-Dan Abrams” and appeared to be frustrated by Mediaite’s lack of coverage of her historic trip (which we had actually covered earlier.) Following is a response from Mediaite founder Dan Abrams to Van Susteren’s critique.

CNN contributor Dana Loesch and Mediaite’s own Frances Martel got into a Mother’s Day fracas that demonstrates how somewhat below-the-radar new media can trump their dinosaur forebears, at least in entertainment value. They appeared on Breitbart TV Editor in Chief Larry O’Connor‘s Stage Right webcast to debate Loesch’s Mother’s Day post at Big Journalism, and the sparks flew quickly. Martel told Loesch, “You’re a little bit drunk,” and Loesch called Frances a “b*tch” because, she explained, “You are a b*tch.”