While Michele Bachmann claimed victory in the Iowa straw poll, Congressman Ron Paul came very close. The Texas congressman has attracted many passionate supporters, and yesterday an Associated Press article said he went from being a fringe candidate to “shaping the 2012 race.”

For a good media-savvy, liberal, that happens to be from Alaska, the last 10 months have been nothing short of depressing.

I’m an Alaskan. Born and raised. My family’s from Wasilla. Does this make me a Sarah Palin expert?

The immediate reaction to Gov. Sarah Palin‘s unexpected announcement: mass confusion by the “media elites.” The timing was less a “news dump” and more a “screw you” to her mortal enemies in the fourth estate. This time, though, even the conservatives were confused: Charles Krauthammer called it “erratic,” Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey essentially wrote her political obituary.

Oh “gotcha” media, you just don’t understand how things are done in the “real world.”

In the age of Twitter there is no such thing as a (Federal holiday) Friday afternoon news dump! Shortly after Sarah Palin announced from Wasilla, Alaska that she would be resigning as Governor our Twitter feed blew up with reactions from the media world. Here’s a quick look.

It’s not your imagination! Last week was a schizophrenic news week. Phew. So much for a summer news slump!

What does it take to confirm – scratch that, report – a celebrity death? Any death? Any piece of news? And whom can you trust in that reporting? These are the core media questions raised by Michael Jackson’s death on Thursday, which TMZ reported first, and without reservation – but which most “reputable” news sources [...]