Top 3 Media Annoyances of 2008

Sure, you can get top five or ten lists anywhere for the next week or so, but I invite you to read and comment on my analysis of the three media figures who gave a new meaning to "annoying" in 2008. I give you:

Barbara Walters: She's the ultimate name-dropper, the epitome of inflated self-importance -- and if you think she was annoying the year Rosie was on The View, she made that stunt look amateur in 2008. Using the one-time entertaining women's talk show as her vehicle, BW ensured her place at numerous 2009 Washington cocktail parties in the following manner: Permitting Joy Behar to defame President Bush and the McCain/Palin ticket at every potential opportunity; embarrassing all self-respecting women over 65 by calling Barack Obama "sexy" to his face; and, in Cindy McCain's words, "picking their bones clean" when she and her husband dared enter the liberal shark tank that is The View (get out now, Elisabeth!). Pair that with the reckless whoring of her autobiography, and you have yourself the third most annoying media figure of 2008. Bet she didn't see that coming in 1961.

Tina Fey: In the last four months, we've seen Tina Fey labeled as "America's Sweetheart," the Associated Press "Entertainer of the Year," and of course, one of the aforementioned Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People." Problem is, those who lavish this shameless praise on Fey are neglecting to acknowledge that the woman has been a media personality for nearly a decade. Her first on-camera appearances on Saturday Night Live happened in 2000, and she was on SNL's writing staff two years before that. Aren't the above titles reserved for the hot newcomers and "It girls" that have barely entered the cultural landscape? Apparently, this rule exists with one key stipulation: If the veteran comedienne in question plays a notable role in nullifying the possibility of a Republican female Vice President, she remains eligible for said titles. Am I saying that "30 Rock" isn't funny? No, I'm saying that it's a little like Nirvana's "Nevermind." The people who bought the album that came before it were left saying, "Hey, I liked them before they sold out!" Know what I mean?

Chris Matthews: Lest I be accused of discriminating against my own gender, I had to round out this list with the man Wikipedia mistakenly describes as an "American news anchor." MSNBC actually stripped Matthews, along with similarly bothersome personality Keith Olbermann, of the anchor title when remarks made during both 2008 political conventions caused the network embarrassment and cost it any credibility it had left. But those antics were just the icing on the cake. Although it happened early in the year, Matthews' comment that a Barack Obama speech made during the Democratic primaries caused him to experience a "thrill going up my leg" continues to live on in infamy. The Media Research Center, a watchdog group that chronicles news media coverage of the political sphere, named this as the "Quote of the Year" -- and so do I. When combined with speculation that he intends to bid for Arlen Specter's U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, this clearly denotes Chris Matthews as my Most Annoying Media Figure of 2008. Congrats!

Can you think of anyone you'd like to include in a Top 5 or Top 10? Let me know!