Across The Media Universe: Away On Sabatocal Edition

(CBS/The Early Show)

It's A Sabatoge: Unless you live under a rock, you've surely heard or read the name Larry Sabato before. The University of Virginia professor is, of course, apparently known as the "America's favorite political scientist." Just how often have you heard from him? Governing.com blogger Josh Goodman counted up how many times American newspapers were Sabatoged in 2006 to reveal that "the Mark McGwire of political analysts" (I guess that's a pre-BALCO investigation reference) had been quoted in papers based in at least 46 states and Washington, D.C. And that doesn't count wire services or syndicated columns. Why is the media so Sabatofied? Goodman offers this knowledge: "[h]aving known Sabato since I was a reporter with the University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily, I can tell you that besides being an easy source, he's also a good one."

Ring-a-ling Bling: Cox Newspapers' Window on Washington blog highlights another special moment from the White House daily briefing. ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz's cell phone went off, revealing the ring tone of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire featuring Krazie Bone.

"Does Martha have a hip-hop ring tone?" Snow asks, somewhat surprised at the notion.
"I have a 15-year-old son," responds Ms. Raddatz, a caucasian generally devoid of bling, seeking to shift blame to her offspring.
Snow sees nothing wrong with the ring tone.
"Play that funky music, white girl," he says, recalling "Wild Cherry's" 1976 hit "Play that Funky Music," which featured the memorable refrain, "Play that funky music, white boy."

Week O' Sales Pitches: As President Bush sets to officially launch his public relations campaign to generate support his new plan for Iraq, prepare yourself for an onslaught of two more big sales pitches -- Apple has unleashed its plans for an iPhone today and the media has responded by unleashing a massive accounting of the announcement. Prepare yourself for more. What else is getting a roll out today? Democrats! The 100-hour campaign
kicked into gear today and will surely fill far more than 100 hours of programming on cable television.

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