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2006: Media MVP

Stephen Colbert coined a word, filleted the president and created television's most indelible character

By Dylan Stableford – December 28, 2006
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The votes are in for what was a predictably wild and wooly media year. To cap it off, we'll be unveiling the winners (and losers) of mediabistro.com's first-ever year-end media awards all week. Today's award: Media Story of the Year.

Stephen 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 — making him mediabistro.com's first-ever Media MVP.

Colbert, ironically, beat the dudes behind his communal p.r. machine — YouTube — and Baron Cohen, whose ability to stay in character for what seemed to be the longest press junket in film history rivaled Colbert's.

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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.

But you didn't care.

Media Bust Of The Year: O.J. Book
Media Scandal Of The Year: O.J. Book/News Corp. Debacle
Media Sixth Man (Or Woman): Ben Karlin
Media Story Of The Year: YouTube
Media MVP: Stephen Colbert

[Dylan Stableford is mediabistro.com's managing editor, media news. He can be reached at dylan AT mediabistro DOT com.]
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