Vacation Robo-Post: Tuned In's Person of the Year
Last week, TIME named its Person of the Year. (I know! I didn't see it coming either!) This year's pick was more of a foregone conclusion that most, so it wasn't likely that a TV or media person was going to claim the top spot. Which makes your nominations for Tuned In POY all the more influential! Who do you think had the greatest impact this year in TV and media?
A couple simple guidelines, modeled on those for the real TIME POY selection: the designation is not an honor—it's about who had the biggest, most influential year for good or ill. In other words, yes, Ben Silverman is eligible. And it's about what each individual did in 2008: i.e., it's not a lifetime achievement award.
A few suggestions off the top of my head to start you off, after the jump:
Tina Fey: Because duh.
Sam Zell: For buying, then running bankrupt, the Tribune Company, hence hastening the apparent death / assisted suicide of the newspaper business.
Katie Couric: Not just for that Sarah Palin interview, but for putting in strong work on CBS's webcasts throughout the election season. She built her presence without getting to moderate a debate, which considering the quality of the Presidential debates, may have been better for her.
Bryan Cranston: For his transformative performance as dying chem teacher / meth cooker Walter White in Breaking Bad.
Ben Silverman: Like I said, it's not an honor. And NBC's ratings crackup / fall from critical grace / putting Jay Leno in primetime to cut costs was not just a big story for NBC but for the future of the TV business.
You may be thinking I'm an idiot because I left out some obvious candidates. I did it on purpose! To motivate you! Cast your votes—you can name more than one—in the comments, and we can total them up later.
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Can we nominate the Writers' Guild as a person? The strike had an effect that reverberated throughout television and impacted shows long after its conclusion. Plus, it gave Stewart, Colbert, and O'Brien an excuse to fight on video.
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I too would have to lean towards Silverman (and Zucker with the assist) for first aiming for the absolute worst way to change the pilot system (lets cut time and money by simply airing stuff from overseas/the 80s with updated accents/outfits and call it a day!), and then following that up with the beginning of (the sad, but inevitable) downsizing of the big three networks.
It is a dubious honor, but I am having a hard time coming up with anyone ever having a year as influential as Silverman had.
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What lulu lulu and Tom Shaw said. Also...
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David Letterman: For re-introducing us to the epochal power of the rant/hissy fit.
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Huffington Post: For sticking it to the MSM
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Hulu: Just for being (oh, and for 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe') -
I'll add a couple nominations:
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Craig Ferguson -- for being the best late-night host, bar none. Seriously, watch his opening monologue every night. No one does it better.
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Tim Kring -- and everyone writing Heroes for killing a cool premise.
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JJ Abrams -- Lost, Fringe, and his movie version of the TV classic Star Trek coming soon. Pretty big year.
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Keith Olbermann -- famously lampooned by Ben Affleck. Cheered on the Obamanaut. Special commented on Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Fueded with other MSNBC on-air talent.
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Tim Russert -- we lost a legend, during an election he would have loved. He will be missed. -
I say Rachel Maddow. She and her show was such nice and rewarding change of pace during an election season (and beyond) that had most cable news shows salivating with either Obamania or viciousness. She can be funny and she makes rehashing the day's news not feel like a chore.
- @cherie_lily Apparently they're capable of beautiful music, but mainly they're simply loud buggers. Like living inside an aviary @ the zoo. - 11 hours ago
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- TMBG aka Baby Woodstock at Prospect Park. http://yfrog.com/0h370mj - 1 day ago
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