mediabistro.com's 2006 Year-End Media Awards: Vote Now!

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The Nominees Are ...

December 13, 2006

Media MVP

Colbert seemed to be on everyone's year-end list, and for good reason: He filleted the president in public, coined a word ("truthiness") that seemed to capture America 2006 and gave Comedy Central the perfect nightcap to Jon Stewart's Daily Show. Baron Cohen makes our list not for his mockumentary road movie, but rather for his ability to stay in character for what seemed to be the longest press junket in film history. Murdoch had his hand in nearly every major media story this year (Fox News, MySpace, O.J., etc.) and News Corp. was news. Huffington and her Post turned one, she wrote a book to empower women and effectively banged the gong against the war in Iraq — plus she even got George Clooney to "blog." With two short brushstrokes, Sumner Redstone reasserted his authority at Viacom, axing a pair of Toms (Freston and Cruise) before his morning shave. And Rachael Ray's Everyday gave Reader's Digest Co. a legitimate hit.

Media Bust of the Year

O.J.'s If I Did It would seem to be a shoe-in for our media "bust" of the year, if it weren't for Office Pirates, Time Inc.'s odd experiment in online toilet humor, and Snakes on a Plane, the movie that failed to live up to the overhype.

Media Story of the Year

It's hard to imagine a media story bigger than YouTube's $1.65 billion sale to Google, but a number of you like Britney Spears. Baron Cohen's Borat made our list for reasons stated above, the Los Angeles Times for its epic newsroom-shareholder battle. Couric's here because Jon Friedman says so.

Media Scandal of the Year

The New York media world couldn't seem to get enough of New York Post gossipist Jared Paul Stern's alleged shakedown of billionaire Ron Burkle — nor, it seemed, could Stern — in a story about Page Six made for Page Six. But then there was O.J. and Michael Richards — a pair of debacles that made all that came before them (Kaavya, Reuters photoshop job — even Mel Gibson) seem trivial.

Media Sixth Man or Woman

Ben Karlin, as the executive producer of both the Colbert Report and Daily Show, was the man behind two of the best shows on television. Kushner made a play for the New York Observer, though it may be too early to tell if it paid off. Lee made a four-hour Katrina documentary that we're predicting will influence viewers long after 2006. Lyne kept MSLO afloat while Martha was in the pen, and set the table for her comeback. And Steele seemed to be on the frontlines deflecting criticism when Gawker Media Daddy Nick Denton cut bait with some of his popular bloggers.

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