Whoops

Neglected the journalism blog again because I remembered I also like writing about fiction and music and cats and stuff.

If you're interested in reading any of that in no particular order, you can check out my Tumblr: cnell.tumblr.com.

Character Sketch

A sketch from Michael Arthur of playwright Tony Kushner and MSNBC pundit Rachel Maddow at the "Duets" event at Joe's Pub in New York City, via MaddowBlog.

From the New Yorker: "[My persona is] not a fake me, but it is a slice of me. Like, I am a person who has depression, and I don’t let depressed Rachel on television."

Hobbit Politics

I was enchanted with Lord of the Rings when the first film came out in 2001. I saw Fellowship in cinema literally a dozen times, and let's be honest, where do you think I got the idea to move to New Zealand in the first place?

So it's been interesting to live here during the filming and production of The Hobbit and realise just how much political maneuvering goes on in New Zealand's film industry these days - including the Prime Minister signing autographs on the red carpet, because he all but made these movies himself. And won the Rugby World Cup! Read it and weep, Labour.

You can get a sense of the behind-the-scenes lobbying and PR scandals from this political round-up by Bryce Edwards at the New Zealand Herald.

"Hollywood, by and large, swung in behind Barack Obama in the recent US presidential elections," Mr Edwards says. "Our own leader's relationship with the 'dream factory' is somewhat different, involving John Key swinging the Government, its limos, our taxes and even our laws in behind Hollywood."

Friendship and Politics

In the end it was probably inevitable.

I'm sad to notice that a rift has opened between one-time friends and colleagues Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. The two of them were a big reason why I got into news and politics, and their apparent break-up is a reality check about the pressures of show business.

When Olbermann left MSNBC in January 2011, he and Maddow had kind words for each other. He called her "my dear friend" as he signed off, and she spent a brief segment of her show explaining that she would never have found a place on the network without his support.

US Weekly and the KStew Scandal

I feel so dirty about this, but I can't help it. The scandal of Kristen Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson has me hooked - not because I have any interest in the actors or, God forbid, the Twilight series, but because of the fascinating way the tabloids are manipulating their consumers.

Here's my favourite theory (okay, conspiracy theory). This is the photograph that started the whole thing, splashed across the July 27 edition of US Weekly and revealed online on July 24.

Rabid "Robsten" fans quickly noticed the distortion where Stewart's right ear should be, indicating the face has been heavily Photoshopped. They spent the rest of the week accusing US Weekly of making the whole thing up by superimposing Stewart's face onto the body of Rupert Sanders' wife, Liberty Ross.

HBO's "The Newsroom"

Days after Keith Olbermann gets fired from Current TV, we get this spectacular teaser from Aaron Sorkin.
 

I'm hooked. Sorry, "Mad Men."

(I can see it now. Sorkin in interview after interview, saying "Why, my character is completely fictional! He's a combination of a range of different TV personalities! After all, he's a Republican!")

The Politics of The Hunger Games

I really may need to see this movie, and maybe even buy the books. Who doesn't enjoy a good old-fashioned political dystopia story?

And as the Hollywood Reporter points out, the best part is that everyone can read their own ideology into this future North America where the government maintains order by forcing children to fight to the death:

Occupy-Wall-Street liberals are loving the way the film portrays an extraordinary gap between the rich and poor as simply an innate evil. ... There’s plenty in Hunger Games for right-wingers, too. The most obvious message being that government overreach can lead to tyranny.

Here's my favourite, of course:

Writing for the Frederick Douglass Foundation, Mack Rights argues that there’s not only a powerful conservative message in Hunger Games but a Christian one, as well, since the story takes place after "liberals have succeeded in erasing God and Christ from the culture completely by successfully creating their own utopia – which is really a dystopian nightmare for anyone not in the liberal ruling class."

Throw in Lionsgate's blatant effort to cause fandom drama by comparing The Hunger Games to Twilight and you've got a lovely bit of political geek escapism.

One Foot on the Ladder

Making the transition from news junkie to journalist is a strange experience. I have insight now that I never imagined when I was just watching political shows and bumming around on the Internet - and there are a few guilty pleasures from my fangirl days that I can't get away with anymore.

Here are a few of the things I've learned:

• Controversial issues have a tendency to split into obvious, polarised and ultimately unhelpful factions. Reporters ought to find a different way to frame the debate while still getting ratings and page clicks. Good luck with that, reporters.
• Everyone thinks their favourite story should be on the front page or at the top of the news hour. Don't even try to please them all - but have a good reason for your decision.
• Humour, sarcasm and moral indignation are fun, useful tools that can backfire spectacularly.

Michael Moore vs Jon Stewart

This article recently made the rounds through pundit fandom and sparked a few arguments, as I'm sure the author intended it to:

Just as one is likely to hear criticism of [Michael] Moore in liberal circles or carefully qualified appreciation, i.e. “I like him, but I wish he wasn’t so strident,” one will never hear any blasphemy spoken against the idol of modern, urbanite, educated liberal culture, Jon Stewart.

It’s impossible to understand the hatred of Moore from the cocktail party and faculty lounge scene of the liberal establishment without also understanding the same politically impotent group’s love for Jon Stewart. Understanding the juxtaposition of Moore and Stewart reveals the true depths of the failure and soullessness of modern American liberalism.

Personally I think Stewart is much more likeable than Moore, but I found myself nodding my head at the observation that many Daily Show fans don't like embarrassing displays of emotion or undignified tactics - things like LGBT activists glitter-bombing anti-gay politicians.

Weinergate: Allow Me to Explain How the Internet Works

So, this is happening:

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner said on Wednesday that he did not send a lewd photo over his Twitter account but cannot be sure that the photo was not of him.

"It certainly doesn't look familiar to me, but I don't want to say with certitude to you something that I don't know to be the certain truth," Weiner told CNN in an interview.

"I didn't send any twitter picture," he said, adding that the photo might have been manipulated.

Weiner has said his account was hacked when a lewd photo of a man in bulging boxer briefs was tweeted to a 21-year-old female college student in Washington state over the weekend. ... The student, Gennette Cordova, issued a statement to the New York Daily News that denied she personally knew Weiner but said, "I am a fan."

Here is why I think the news coverage of this story is painfully ridiculous.

I follow politics on Twitter a lot, so I have a pretty good idea of how this corner of Internet fandom works. When we’re not watching the news and debating the issues, we’re joking, arguing and sometimes outright flirting with our favourite media personalities – and there are intricate networks of nicknames, catchphrases and inside jokes for each of them.

Olivia Munn and the Pundit Fans

Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing fame (and some movie about Facebook, like that’ll ever go anywhere) is developing a show about the cable news industry called More as the Story Develops, which is stirring up some fun conversations on the Twitters these days.

The show’s concept has been a fond dream of liberal pundit fans for years, especially since Sorkin likes to use a certain Mr Olbermann as inspiration for his characters. So we were all delighted when we learned the project was going ahead.

Then this happened:

Olivia Munn has found life after the cancellation of her series "Perfect Couples." The actress has joined the cast of Aaron Sorkin's cable news drama at U.S. cable network HBO. ... Munn will play Sloan, one of the "new breed" of sexy financial analysts with a show on [the] network.

Here’s the problem. In pundit fandom, liberal women tend to hate Olivia Munn. No, I mean they hate her. We’re talking the fire of a thousand suns here.