Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney — long seen as the “candidate to beat,” the one constant as his rivals take their turns rising and inevitably falling in the polls — is regarding the Iowa caucuses with just a smidge of trepidation. In a segment taped yesterday in Des Moines, Romney told the Today show’s Savannah Guthrie that he’s hoping for 25 percent of the vote, at best.

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.

It’s Barney Frank O’clock, kitties! The Massachusetts congressman, who recently announced his plans to retire after he completes his current term, dealt Today show host Savannah Guthrie a healthy helping of sarcasm after taking issue with her questions and comments. *rubs hands together* Here we go.

You can add two more items to NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd‘s resume´: karaoke singer and consummate good sport. Chuck’s former White House colleague Savannah Guthrie wrapped up a Today Show report on DC’s “Karaoke Cab” by picking Todd up for some fare-ly entertaining duets, and Chuck did not disappoint. Look out, Brett Baier, there’s a new singin’ sheriff in town!

Savannah Guthrie filed a report this morning focusing on some of the more outrageous allegations in a controversial new biography of Sarah Palin just published by author Joe McGinnis. The book is controversial for a variety of reasons, not least of which because it shares some remarkably personal details about the sex life of Ms. Palin before she was married and also alleges that she and Todd had used cocaine. The book notably received a negative review from the NY Times.

On the Today show to discuss his new memoir, Here Comes Trouble, Michael Moore maintained that he would not take back his contraversial 2003 Oscar speech, but holds certain regrets for the toll it has on him and his family.

Moore left jaws dropped in the days immediately following America’s entry into Iraq when he used his Oscar acceptance to speak out against the “fictitious times” with “fictitious election results,” “fictitious presidents,” and “fictitious wars.” Over the audience’s boos, he unforgettably cried: “We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you!”

August is turning out to be a month dedicated in the media to hammering President Obama on his jobs policy– which, coincidentally, he has yet to release in any detail. On today’s Meet the Press, Robert Gibbs argued that the President had his hands tied by Congress on the jobs issue and that the economy was in too dire a situation to solve immediately, but host Savannah Guthrie continued to push him, reminding him polls showed the American people dissatisfied with the President’s performance and yearning for a concrete plan.

In the wake of her walk-off on Piers Morgan Tonight, former GOP Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R-DE) has waged an escalating campaign to paint host Piers Morgan as a sexual predator, calling his line of questioning “creepy,” and accusing him of “borderline sexual harassment.” While interviewers have challenged O’Donnell over her reasons for ending the interview, there’s been little pushback over her increasingly hyperbolic attacks on Morgan. We asked Morgan about O’Donnell’s escalating attacks.

Judge solely by the amount of attention she has received this week, it’s fair to say that Tea Party darling and aspiring media figure Christine O’Donnell has been successful at promoting her new book Troublemaker. But if you draw a distinction between the quantity and quality of media attention, well then perhaps its a different story all together. This morning O’Donnell showed up on NBC’s TODAY and was fairly interrogated by Savannah Guthrie who questioned O’Donnell’s previous explanations for why exactly she walked off of the set of Piers Morgan Tonight earlier in the week.

Just a few months ago, reports surfaced that Today Show host Matt Lauer had had enough early morning TV work, and would be departing the show when his current contract came to an end. While NBC denied the report, rumors have persisted that not only is Lauer serious about leaving, but that NBC executives are reasonably (and quite seriously) considering possible replacements. Mediaite has learned that the top choice of certain key Comcast and NBC execs is American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.

Joe Scarborough was starting to get really worried that a deal might not be reached between Republicans and Democrats before the August 2nd debt ceiling deadline. As Scarborough wondered whether everyone in Washington understood that the ongoing debate “is shaking the world’s confidence” in America, most on the Morning Joe panel agreed that Speaker of the House John Boehner is not helping the situation with some of his comments on television yesterday.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain appeared on The Today Show and reiterated much of his campaign talking points including that he is a problem-solver in business and “a real black man” who is prepared to lead. Yet NBC’s Savannah Guthrie took issue with Cain touting that his lack of political experience was actually a good [...]

MSNBC’s Rundown co-host Chuck Todd said farewell to his co-host Savannah Guthrie Friday, popping the cork for an on-set champagne toast as Guthrie prepares for her move to NBC’s TODAY. In a tweet about the morning, Guthrie told followers she and Todd were “kickin it like KLG and Hoda,” a reference to TODAY’s Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, who’ve been known to enjoy a late morning mimosa from time to time.

NBC’s Savannah Guthrie will be adding Today Chief Legal Analyst to her duties as co-host of the Today 9 AM hour. Guthrie debuted with Matt Lauer this morning to discuss her first case, where the latter made the announcement of her new appointment.

In her first comments since announcing on-air this morning that she would leave NBC’s TODAY in June, Meredith Vieira told reporters it was a “tough decision” that took months to make to decide to depart the program. “I had to go with my gut, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Vieira said she began considering a departure from television’s top-rated network morning show in January, but didn’t say anything about the move officially until she announced her decision Monday morning on the show–confirming one of the worst kept secrets in television. “It didn’t take WikiLeaks for this to come out,” said NBC News president Steve Capus.

CBS News is reporting that during a sit down interview for 60 Minutes, President Barack Obama revealed to Steve Kroft his decision to not release photos of a dead Osama bin Laden. Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers reportedly said “the risk of release outweigh the benefits” before adding that there was concern over how the image would be viewed as a “trophy” and inflame public opinion in the Middle East.

NBC News is reporting that CIA director Leon Panetta has been chosen by the president to replace Robert Gates at the Pentagon. Gates has previously announced he would leave his post this year, probably over the summer.

Gen. David Petraeus is President Obama’s pick to replace Panetta as head of the CIA. As NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reports this morning, Petraeus, “who took over as Afghanistan war commander in June, was expected to leave that post before the end of this year. His name had been floated as a possible replacement for Panetta if President Barack Obama decided to tap Panetta to replace Robert Gates as Defense Secretary.

Potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has dominated the airwaves as of late, as he grants interviews to anyone with a camera for him to appear in front of or a telephone for him to call. Much like the four stages of grief, it seems like Trump’s various interviewers are each at various stages along the path of the “Four Stages of a Trump Interview.”

The gulf between the headlines Tuesday, which trumpeted President Obama “Losing His Cool” in the “Outburst Heard ‘Round the World,” and the Clark Kent-esque reality of Obama’s admonition to a Texas reporter, was comically underscored by the fact that current media it-boy Donald Trump treats every interview like he’s the king of a very crowded subway car. Why, then, did Obama’s demeanor cause such a stir, while Trump’s gets nary a mention?

Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann already tried to convince Bill O’Reilly that she is a “problem-solver” and now on MSNBC she found herself needing to prove she was a person of substance with credibility. Savannah Guthrie played a series of Bachmann’s statements that were rated as “false” by Politifact and when Bachmann avoided addressing them, the interview got a little tense.

So, how are you celebrating the big first Chuvanniversary? Wait, what? Seriously? You don’t know what Chuvanniversary is? C’mon, people!

It’s the first anniversary of the momentous pairing of Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown, or, as Guthrie dubbed it today, it’s their “Chuvanniversary!” Fun, right??

Yay! Pop a cork and duck out of work early!

With the announcement Wednesday morning that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will soon be moving on to a role outside the White House, the next big question is: Who will succeed him? There have been a few names kicked around, but the smart money is on Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton, and with the [...]

On the heels of this morning’s announcement that he will be leaving the White House, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fielded many questions regarding his future, and his possible successor. Gibbs played it characteristically close to the vest, divulging very little in the way of new information, but he spoke about his plans, and at one point, seemed poised to get a little misty when talking about the relationships he has formed during his tenure.

MSNBC Daily Rundown hosts Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie attempted to stage a bit of an intervention with Democratic Florida Senate candidate and current Rep. Kendrick Meek, but from the sound of their questions, you’d be forgiven if you mistook Meek for Ross Perot. Explaining the dire circumstances recent poll numbers are putting both Governor Charlie Crist‘s campaign and his own, Guthrie asks Meek, “[if Marco] Rubio wins, can you live with your role in that?”

During an appearance on Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie‘s Daily Rundown, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus may have one-upped Robert Gibbs‘ “Professional Left” comments. Having already written a column agreeing with Gibbs, she told Chuck, Savannah, and Anita Dunn that the left and the blogosphere are “deranged.”

I was all set to agree with her, until I found out she wasn’t talking about their berserk reaction to Gibbs’ comments, but rather, their high expectations of President Obama and the Democrats.