Media Watch October 24, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

By PJH Staff

I know that hippie!
In the November 2007 issue of Outside magazine, Jon Billman, author of “When We Were Wolves,” wrote a tight-as-a-drum article entitled “The Wendy Syndrome” that circles around the life of one of Jackson Hole’s professional freeskiers, Charlotte Moats. Billman depicts a series of events – good, bad, and in-between – that occurred early in the January 2007 ski season in the life of the 27-year-old skier, Dartmouth grad, and now house-flipper. The article shows her fixing up her house just off The Village Road, losing a childhood friend to an avalanche, and throwing a kick-ass party featuring The Miller Sisters, six kegs, and a tow-in ski jump over a bonfire.

The photos, coupled with the name-droppings of people affiliated with the core Jackson Hole ski community, add up to a cast of thousands. Billman managed to include all of the usual suspects in his story, and photographer Chris McPherson nailed the stills.

Among the notable images are photos that capture two of Jackson Hole’s finest cameramen. Teton Gravity Research Founder Todd Jones gets a haggard head shot while The Planet’s hippie-at-large shooter Andrew Wyatt sports his usual tie-died overalls while dancing in the background on the opposite page behind Charlotte Moats and Jeff Annetts. The article claims the party had a “come as anything but yourself theme,” but these two media men chose to disregard that part of the invitation.
— Sam Petri

Limbaugh’s big mouth reaps big cash
Rush Limbaugh has pulled off a deft public relations maneuver with an eBay auction of the letter sent to his boss at Clear Channel by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The letter, which asked for a public repudiation of Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” comment, was signed by Reid and 40 Senate Democrats. Limbaugh, who asserts that the “phony soldiers” remark was taken out of context, put the letter up for auction on eBay and received a high bid of $2,100,100 from the Eugene B. Casey Foundation. All proceeds will benefit the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships for the children of marines and law-enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.

Limbaugh, who is on the board of the organization, has agreed to match the auction proceeds with $2,100,100 from his own pocket. This huge donation demonstrates more than words could ever do Limbaugh’s support for all Americans in uniform. Democrats in the Senate overreached in their attempt to bully and discredit Limbaugh. Limbaugh has shown that he not only has the biggest mouth in talk radio, but that he also has the determination and the intelligence to come out on top in his battle against 41 of the world’s most powerful people.
— Judd Grossman

Colbert for president?
Publish a book. Call the party chairman. Hem and haw about an official announcement to drum up anticipation. Do the talk-show circuit.

This is the formula for declaring a presidential bid. And now Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” a satiric news program spawned from Colbert’s former character on “The Daily Show,” has thrown his hat – a glue-and-glitter Styrofoam masterpiece, if you watched his announcement – into the presidential ring. The announcement comes on the heels of his character’s book release, “I am America (And So Can You!).” He’s only running in South Carolina and wants to do it in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.

If it weren’t for 24-hour news stations in need of constant blather, fans of the show might be the only ones to ever learn of the announcement. But pundits have filled the screen to ask “is he or isn’t he” to their correspondents across the globe. They, more than anyone else, could push what began as a faux-run into something more legitimate.
Colbert appeared on “Meet the Press” and told NBC’s Tim Russert that he doesn’t want to be president, he just wants to run. Still, he said, “I’m far realer than Sam Brownback, let me put it that way.”
— Grace Hammond
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Media Watch October 24, 2007 | Planet JH News Article: Media Watch

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