Monday, December 20, 2004

Faux Outrage - Managing the News Cycle

Outrage abounds in Sillyville (Population: 58 million) this morning as the court jester is parodied on SNL:

NBC's comedy depiction of talkradio king Rush Limbaugh passed-out in vomit from drug abuse ignited backstage outrage at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

The animated sketch left one senior production source stunned and outraged, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

A. I don't visit Drudge Report often.

B. I haven't watched SNL in years. It's simply not funny anymore.

C. This seems a bit...eh...late, and perhaps in poor taste, yet it demonstrates a vitally important point for the "moral values" contingent. I'll let you figure out what the point is. And the outrage is a bit contrived, for sure.

D. See this posting on Eschaton for a primer on how crap like this makes it from non-issue to fire-starter.

If Drudge and Michelle Malkin have picked up on this, it's only a matter of time before it shows up on Fox. I'm sure it will also be the topic de jour for dittoheads calling into the EIB network today.