In a feature published Monday, PC World counted up the “Top 10 Internet Scandals of All Time.” Though most items on the list come from the world of business (two stories about the music industry’s anti-piracy tactics) and entertainment (two stories about Paris Hilton) they devoted the final three to politics and the media.
In order as announced, PC World considers the top three Internet scandals to be: The blogger-led debunking of CBS’s report on Bush’s Guard service, 3. Dan Rather Bids a Font Farewell; the revelation of then-Rep. Mark Foley’s inappropriate e-mails to minor staffers, 2. A Real Page Turner, and the Drudge Report publishing Newsweek’s spiked story about Monica Lewinsky, 1. Monica-gate and Whitewater.
You’ll get no argument from me about number one… except that author Dan Tynan seems a little confused about which scandal led to the other:
The Lewinsky scandal put the Internet on hyperalert, drawing its attention to an ongoing and arguably bigger scandal called Whitewater.
Dan, Wikipedia is there for a reason. Use it.
But to main the point: Mark Foley’s resignation is a bigger deal than Dan Rather’s? Come again? Heck, Foley even happened on an off-year election. Nobody outside of politics knew who Foley before the scandal, and now he’s a punchline on late-night TV. Dan Rather, on the other hand, was the anchor of the CBS Evening News, and now he’s… a punchline on late-night TV.
But even Tynan is careful not to oversell the case:
Foley’s disgrace may not have brought about the Republican electoral debacle last November, but it didn’t help his or his party’s cause.
And this is a bigger scandal than Yahoo and Google enabling censorship in China? I was about to write that PC World should stay out of politics, but that might be a bit hypocritical, considering the current venue. Instead, I’ll just suggest they develop a sense of proportion.
And don’t get me started on Forbes’ “The Web Celeb 25.” Jessica “Lonelygirl15″ Rose is #1?! If Forbes knows that Rose didn’t write, direct or edit the spots that made her (sort of) famous, they’re not telling. And Markos Moulitsas (#3) is more important than Matt Drudge (#4)? Please. We can debate this point when Daily Kos gets 16,132,714 visitors in a 24-hour period.
Besides, the real action at dKos isn’t his posts or even his hand-picked front-pagers, it’s in the user diaries. And they write:
To his legions of fans, he’s better known as “Kos,” an Army nickname that rhymes with “dose.” To conservative U.S. politicians, he’s known as a perpetual thorn in the side of the Republican Party.
Ha. To those who actually are familiar with the site, Kos is more a thorn in the side of the Democratic party. His book, “Crashing the Gate,” has almost nothing to say about Republicans except they’re really bad people. And you can imagine how aggrieved conservative U.S. politicians were when they heard… actually, they never heard that.
But I suppose they deserve some credit for knowing how to pronounce his name.
P.S. Yes, I realize this is essentially the same thing as complaining about Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” leaning way too hard on the 1960s and 70s. That is to say, that’s just what they want us to do.
