HuffPo knows you want it

The "Media" section on the Huffington Post occasionally contains decent stories about journalism happenings. Mostly, though, it reads like those gossip rags at the supermarket checkout line. Today's headlines are typical. The top tier stories always highlight "violence" between news personalities. Fox News of course is cast as the "black hat" villain: "WATCH: O'Reilly Angrily Shouts Down Obama Spokesman; Fox News Host Attacks Brian Williams; Laura Ingraham Trashes L.A. Mayor; Fox News Host Swears AGAIN On Air; WATCH: O'Donnell, Schultz In Heated Clash, Coulter's BRUTAL Takedown Of A Surprising Target." Notice the frequent use of the peep-show verb "WATCH," another HuffPo trademark that exploits people's inability to avert their eyes from a ghastly car wreck.

The next tier of stories naturally involve sex or implied salaciousness: "WATCH: Hoda And Kathie Lee Love Balls; What Is Anderson DOING With Kathy Griffin?" The last tier presumes the reader is brain-dead because these stories can only be described as shockingly stupid: "Are UK Cops Now Criminalizing Good Journalism? Weatherman's Shocking, Horrific Night; Sean Hannity's Secret Dream" and my personal favorite: "Oprah's Favorite Favorite Thing." All of this is Grade-A Media Crack of course, and HuffPo knows you want it. And like the local drug dealer, it is happy to feed your addiction in exchange for your page hits and intellectual soul. No, HuffPo does not represent the end of civilization. That would be too harsh. It is merely one small step toward our undoing.