Thursday, November 26, 2009

Opinion

Washington Post Fails at Online Political Video Humor

June 24, 2009 09:55 AM ET | Bonnie Erbe | Permanent Link | Print

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I'm not sure what this video is, but assuming it is what it appears to be, it's weak. It appears to be two serious Washington Post journalists trying to be funny. They fail miserably.

Further, in attempting to be something they're not (funny or comedians, take your pick) they inadvertently succeed at something they most likely never intended: to stretch their credibility as journalists to a microscopic sinew. Advice to Milbank and Cillizza, the guys in the video who write for the Washington Post: Stick to print, and leave the video news comedy to Jon Stewart, who's great at what he does.

Fortunately for the Washington Post, it isn't the only print venture into online video attempting to be funny, but missing the mark. The somewhat infamous Onion, the spoof newspaper out of Wisconsin, is also apparently venturing in to online media. And even though Onion staffers have proven comedic credentials in print, they, too, are having a tough time transitioning into video (which you can see after the jump):


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Tags: Washington Post

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About Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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