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.

When Seth Meyers reported on the story of a local strip club doing a Christmas toy drive (“give a gift to charity and we’ll give it to the manager!”), Jimmy Fallon just had to stop by his old “Weekend Update” post to hear more. Looking sharp in a navy suit and purple tie, he challenged Meyers to a “good old-fashioned ‘Weekend Update’ Joke-Off.” And, just to make things more exciting, former co-anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also threw their hats into the ring.

Over the course of 2011, we covered an array of politicians, authors, entertainers, media mavens, and others as they discussed their crafts and their industries. (Here’s last year’s list.) We enjoyed most of the panels, lectures, and debates we took in, while some of them fell short. Here, a rundown of our 5 favorites, followed by the 10 quotes that defined the year in New York City media panels:

Governor Jon Huntsman is not doing so great in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, so he was free tonight to actually appear on Saturday Night Live. It was really him!!! It’s well established that his daughters are quite media savvy and have a sense of humor, but this time Huntsman himself had the opportunity to show off his comedic chops on the show. He plied New Hampshire native Seth Meyers with compliments about his native state, like “you are as wise as a Dartmouth professor.”

Who: Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Marika Sawyer, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Bryan Tucker, Chris Kelly, moderated by Steve Gaydos
What: “Live from New York… A Discussion with the Saturday Night Live Writers”
Where: Paley Center for Media
When: November 13, 2011
Thumbs: Up

Governor Rick Perry stopped by Weekend Update to comment on a recent video of a speech he gave in New Hampshire, which went viral after he appeared to be intoxicated and confused. Seth Meyers questioned the governor about his drinking, but all he was willing to comment was “drinks are for dinks” as he drank deeply from a flask.

Stefon, how we’ve missed you! Our favorite New York tour guide stopped by a particularly laggard “Weekend Update” to offer his recommendations for Mother’s Day. Up first was new club “Unhh,” which boasts “piles of expired Lunchables,” and where you can meet Stefon’s best friend, a 2-year-old UFC fighter with “hands like empanadas.” Bill Hader barely got through that one.

With the momentous news that Osama bin Laden has been killed, Saturday’s White House Correspondents Dinner feels almost like an event from a bygone era. Still, for those of you who still remember the dinner, but have already seen President Obama‘s blistering Donald Trump routine, or Seth Meyers‘ dry-roasting of the media like so many [...]

It would appear that Donald Trump‘s rant against SNL’s Seth Meyers for comments that the latter made at “The Donald’s” expense during the weekend’s White House Correspondents Association Dinner, has lost the potential Republican candidate the vote of at least one segment of the population: stutterers.

Seth Meyers, taking the podium after Obama, was in his element. He took a few moments to acknowledge how upset he was that the birth certificate issue had been resolved right before the dinner, because now all of his birther material was useless. “Is Joe Biden still the vice president?” he asked. “Because if not I’m down to, like, ‘thank you’ and ‘God bless America’.”

Washington, DC is often referred to as “Hollywood for ugly people,” but in recent years, the town has enjoyed one night of the year when it blossoms into a Hollywood swan: The White House Correspondents Dinner, aka “Nerdprom.” As the dinner’s profile has risen, so has the demand for tickets to see, and be seen, at an event that is ostensibly a celebration of DC’s least glamorous denizens. Even as this year’s Seth Meyers-headlined fete has had to compete with the Royal Wedding, the clamor to get in has reached an all-time zenith.

Muammar Gaddafi dropped by “Weekend Update” to let us know how the bombing in Libya is going. Spoiler alert: the answer is “not well”. Gaddafi’s attitude toward the airstrikes could be described as flippant; he actually used the phrase “Homie don’t play that” (though he explained he was just excited because they’re only now getting “In Living Color” in Libya).

SNL’s “Weekend Update” featured the triumphant return of Stefon, who appeared on the show to recommend exciting date night spots for New Yorkers. Bill Hader had a bit more difficulty than usual holding it together while describing the perfect spot for lovebirds to mingle with “Jewpids” (Jewish cupids, obviously). Stefon’s crush on Seth Meyers was [...]

Hosni Mubarak suddenly has a lot more time on his hands, after resigning on Friday to the delight of the Egyptian people. He returned to “Weekend Update” this weekend to talk with Seth Meyers about his feelings. Mubarak assured Meyers that everyone was sad to see him go, and he was heartbroken to leave his [...]

Over the course of 2010, we covered an array of politicians, authors, entertainers, media mavens, and others as they discussed their crafts and their industries. We enjoyed most of the panels, lectures, and debates we took in, while some of them fell short. Here, a rundown of our 5 favorites, followed by the 10 quotes that defined the year in New York City media panels:

After a year of unlikely TLC celebrities, Tea Party rallies, and White House ‘compromises’ souring the once star-struck media, there should be a lot to skewer for whomever headlines next year’s White House Correspondents Dinner. Fortunately for us, Seth Meyers, host of SNL‘s “Weekend Update” segment, will be doing the job in 2011.

Last night on Saturday Night Live, the show poked fun at the ongoing feud between Kanye West and George W. Bush with a hilarious skit envisioning the two as friends in a fake interview with Seth Meyers.

This past weekend, Mediaite contributor Jasmine Moy took in the New Yorker Festival, one of the city’s hottest cultural tickets every fall, usually featuring very smart people sitting in chairs on stage, talking thoughtfully about smart things, for longer than five minutes and without interruption. Why is there so little of that on the telly? It even had its share of naughtiness: “They were small breasts, in keeping with the understated nature of the magazine.” If you want to find out the context for that remark, you’ll have to read on.

Saturday Night Live was surprisingly easy on the newly unemployed Rick Sanchez on its “Weekend Update” segment tonight. The show, which has famously mocked Good Morning America for being inane and New York Governor David Patterson for being blind, was merciful to Sanchez—despite his anti-semitic comments.

New York Governor David Paterson may have proved last night that laughter is the best revenge. Paterson make a surprise appearance during last night’s Weekend Update to confront fake David Paterson (played by Fred Armisen). When Armisen debuted his Paterson last year he came under fire from many, including Paterson, for mocking the disabled. Paterson, however, had the last laugh last night while also proving he could take a joke.

Following the big ESPN TV event tomorrow, LeBron James‘ “The Decision” (yes, in quotes), the next big event will be this year’s ESPYs, the annual sports awards show.

This year it’s live with SNL‘s Seth Meyers as host – we talked to him today in a conference call about LeBron, the best sports SNL host and more.

Tonight’s all-star SNL featured a favorite “Weekend Update” staple — and reunited three of Update’s favorite anchors. “‘Really!’ with Seth & Amy” morphed into “‘Really! With Seth, Amy & Tina,’” bringing together the Update anchors who have manned the desk for the last decade: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers.

The new Arizona Immigration Law has managed to supplant both the Tea Partiers, the Birthers, and maybe even the ‘shitty deal-ers‘ as the cable news story of the week. Descriptions thus far have basically fallen into three categories: Nazis, Fascists, and the Apartheid. With that in mind, here is a short history of Arizona Immigration Law rhetoric.

For many Saturday Night Live writers, the gig is their first real job. And that makes Lorne Michaels their first real boss. Contrary to what you may have heard, Michaels actually sounds like a supportive and understanding boss, setting aside the pressures of producing a weekly comedy show in favor of focusing on how to help his young talent get better at what they do.

After releasing a pretty inclusive list of the Top 25 Right-Wing Journalists in America, Daily Beast columnist Tunku Varadarajan took on the other half of the aisle, putting together a list of the most powerful and influential American liberals.