In a Monday, December 23 write-up, Associated Press National Writer Jocelyn Noveck went so over-the-top in her awe at Miley Cyrus's ability to attract attention during 2013 that she called her "this year's pop-culture prom queen," and included a mention of Cyrus in her rundown of "pop culture moments" during every month of the year.
As I noted earlier this morning (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), a few days after Noveck went all-Miley, all-the-time, an AP report noted that the wire service could only round up 70 responses from thousands of subscribing news organizations to its "Entertainer of the Year" survey. Though actress Jennifer Lawrence "won" the award by getting 15 votes to Cyrus's 14, the real winner was clearly either "None of the Above" or "Who Cares?" Had she known, it seems that Noveck would still have engaged in the nincompoopery which follows the jump (bolds are mine):
NO CONTEST: MILEY WAS OUR 2013 POP-CULTURE QUEEN
Call her this year's pop-culture prom queen.
A year ago, Miley Cyrus was no stranger to us, of course. But who could have guessed how her star would rise - or rather, explode - in 2013, making this former preteen idol one of the most watched people on the planet? And so it seems only right to make Miley our tour guide (Kim and Kanye, you came close!) as we take our annual, highly selective, chronological tour through the year's pop culture moments:
JANUARY
... MILEY CYRUS, beginning her big year, is happily ensconced in her engagement to LIAM HEMSWORTH
FEBRUARY
Or is she? It's Oscar time, and MILEY, in a sexy backless white dress, makes news for who she ISN'T with at a post-Oscar party - her fiance.
MARCH
Things are heating up for MILEY - she's the March Cosmo cover girl. Of her major image change from those HANNAH MONTANA days, she notes: "Some of the worst things that have happened in my career ... have actually been what's best for me."
Readers will be relieved to learn that I won't torture them by running down every month of the year.
Let's skip to the summer:
AUGUST
... August is the month MILEY will be remembered for most, thanks to her infamous performance on the MTV Video Music Awards, where she twerks her way into pop culture history in a teddy bear leotard that segues to a skimpy nude bikini. Of course, there's the foam hand, too, the constantly stuck-out tongue and the vulgar gestures. By morning, we can't talk about anything else. We'd like to stop ... but we can't!
With encouragement like that from a national news organization — it's not as if Cyrus isn't getting plenty of that already — we can expect hordes of Miley imitators in the next few years.
And finally, Noveck's wrap:
NOVEMBER
Time for some year-end awards. "Twerk" is on the shortlist for the Oxford Dictionary word of the year, though it loses out to "selfie." People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive is singer ADAM LEVINE. On the GQ annual list of least influential celebrities, Miley is No. 6, but don't feel TOO bad, Miley, President Obama is No. 17. At the American Music Awards, meanwhile, MILEY doesn't disappoint, performing "Wrecking Ball" as a duet with a giant, lip-syncing CGI kitten.
DECEMBER
More nods to MILEY's pop-culture dominance: MTV names her artist of the year. As for KARDASHIAN, she ranks No. 3 on GOOGLE's list of most-searched people in the U.S., the only non-singer on the list. Fiance West is No. 10. And Google's No. 1 is ... come on, did you have any doubt? MILEY also tops Yahoo's most-searched list. (KARDASHIAN is second.) And, as the year ticks to a close, guess who's going to be rocking out in Times Square?
Happy MILEY Year.
No thanks, Jocelyn. Though I was never a big fan when he was alive, as we head into 2014, I would prefer a continuous loop of "Auld Lang Syne" by "Mister New Year's Eve" himself, Guy Lombardo.
Ms. Noveck was last seen at NewsBusters in early 2008 touting "Politically Active Kids — All Democrats, of Course."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
