It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad media world, and we’re just players, right? We don’t even have Walter Cronkite to tell us how it is anymore. The latest to the fray is Mediaite.com, and on today’s Wilshire & Washington, we have Rachel Sklar, the Editor-at-Large for Mediaite and a former senior contributing editor here at Huffington Post, to talk about this new venture. One of the site’s most interesting features is its Power Grid, which uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the top voices in 12 different media categories. (Damn popularity. You thought you escaped it after high school, didn’t you? Not a chance.) It’s certainly an interesting feature (like a car crash, you can’t look away) but should journos be ranked like this? Does the feature inspire a narcissistic-type of journalism, with people trying to game the system? Sklar offers a few fascinating tidbits, including that men are way, way more likely to tweet their personal ranking than women. Hmm, curious.

Along with hosts Ted Johnson, Maegan Carberry, and Teresa Klein, Sklar also talks about the media feedback loop: Does the media cover itself too much? Also, can this “new new journalism” ever produce a figure of such towering importance and universal voice as Walter Cronkite? (TV news was kind of the first version of an RSS feed, right? Cronkite Aggregator? Sounds like an iPhone app.) Now we’ve lost the fabled newsman, and with the news media splitting itself into increasingly small segments of the population, can anyone command that sort of influence again? Finally, we touch on Obama’s upcoming presser tonight. What do we expect? Will he say anything new or novel? And more importantly, will he be wearing those mommy jeans again?

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

A serious question for all those watching the Sonia Sotomayor hearings: Nobody, especially Sotomayor, is really going to say anything new or dramatic, so can we skip it? No? D’oh! A wise Latina might let us, but we all know how the Republicans feel about them.

On this week’s Wilshire & Washington, we confront bipartisan hackery head-on in policy, journalism, and words, and we welcome Jon Henke to our digital broadcast booth. Henke is a political and policy consultant, who’s worked for Fred Thompson, George Allen and Senator Mitch McConnell; he’s also been a blogger since 2003 at QandO.net and recently launched TheNextRight.com.

We start out on the notion of bipartisan policy, which is in some ways bad for everyone: It demands compromise and therefore will annoy the heck out of supporters and push forward half-baked policies. Or, as Henke eloquently puts it, “cutting the baby in half.” Eww. Thanks, Jon. But is this sort of buying-votes-through-compromise actually a form of collusion? Can’t partisanship be actually productive? Perhaps we could start by crossing lines to confront legislative bundling and transparency: Why can’t Congress remove irrelevant amendments in huge omnibus bills or at least vote on them separately? (Apparently, some earmarks in DC are written on napkins. Great work, guys.)

As is our want, we can’t go a whole show without talking Twitter and its effect on politics, with Ted chuckling at Maegan’s obsession. Henke offers a novel suggestion: allow politicians to only make statements in 140 characters or less and only in categorical imperatives. It would certainly quicken press conferences, but what would @TheHyperFix do to amuse himself? Teresa suggests that while dialogue in social media politics is exciting, the rampant nature of trolls often quickly devolves the conversation from any logical merit. Is there room for organizational mechanisms in comment sections, Gawker-style?

We also address recent articles about HuffPost and Politico as the future of journalism, which have led some to suggest the future holds only partisanship. Henke thinks it’s a good thing. Isn’t there a lot of profit – not necessarily monetary – to be had in partisan journalism? Financial rewards for being crazy partisan are there, of course (see Beck, Glenn), but opinions are a commodity at this point and what we really need is new information and investigation on both sides. Darn. That’s what the objective press provides, isn’t it? Maegan notes that it’s about time more outlets start competing with Arianna and Josh Marshall, and Jon addresses the GOP’s lame rightroots efforts at doing so. It does look like journalism will become far more specialized, just like it has in the tech industry.

We wrap the show with Ted weighing in on Bruno. How offensive was it? Neither Maegan nor Teresa have seen the flick, nor do they want to. Is all this furor over its release just a lot of people not having a sense of humor? It did, after a huge opening on Friday night, crash and burn a little at the box office over the weekend. Will Americans leave their sensitivities at the door? Is it worth seeing Ron Paul and terrorists punked?

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

It’s been a crazy week, and it’s only Wednesday! Since their election on Friday, Iranians have been burning up the Twittersphere, drumming up support abroad and organizing protests internally. Why has Twitter suddenly gone political? Finally appreciating the service, Ted exposes his luddite roots, and Teresa helpfully explains why Twitter is so difficult to block, even in a country like Iran. (It’s basically impossible to stop people from sharing information on the Internet.)

So will people start relying more on Twitter for their news? Is this a shift for journalism? Can citizen journalists do a better job of covering things like the Iranian protests? CNN and the rest of the MSM certainly could’ve done better this weekend – check out the #CNNfail hashtag or the anger during the #140conf in New York – but couldn’t professional news organizations be doing more to use services like Twitter? The wisdom of the crowd is great, but who’s going to fact check all the information coming out of Twitter? Couldn’t it be the MSM interpreting and confirming this massive output of information?

Most of us are aggregators and distributors on Twitter anyway, and that shouldn’t be confused with actual in-depth, critical, original journalism. It’s like a game of “hot potato” with information. Some people cast this as MSM vs Social Media, but that’s a false argument, as our Prez likes to say. Aren’t Twitter feeds, Maegan suggests, just like AP/Reuter wire services in some ways?

We also talk President Obama’s lame attempt to appease the gay community, which sounds more like a fundraising stunt than anything else, and that ridiculous Letterman-Palin feud over the last week. (Does anyone even care about the Alaskan Governor anymore? If we stop talking about her, will she cease to exist? Kind of like Alf?)

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

As the SCOTUS nomination of Sonia Sotomayor continues to dominate the news cycle, CNN’s Leslie Sanchez joins us to get right to the heart of the matter: what’s up with Newt Gingrich withdrawing his “she’s racist” comments? Can’t the guy just stand up for what he believes? But seriously, how many controversies does Sotomayor need to go through just to get on the Supreme Court? Any errors on her tax returns? Let’s just check to make sure, okay?

Sanchez, a Republican strategist and former advisor to President George W. Bush, gives us some serious thoughts about the historic nature of Sotomayor’s nomination to the Latino community, how the GOP can talk about identity politics without turning people off, and how it’s actually President Obama who made this nomination all about race and ethnicity when he spoke so glowingly of her empathy and background. She also addresses the relevancy of those comments about a “wise Latina” – it is justice for all, without favoring one group over another.

The second big story of the last week is Doctor George Tiller, the Kansas-based abortion doctor who was killed in his own church by an anti-abortion activist. A devastating story all around, Sanchez speaks to the controversy over how certain media pipelines push angry vitriol against figures like Tiller and how that can lead to violence. Finally, Sanchez weighs in on former VP Dick Cheney’s thoughts on gay marriage. Does this mark a point of moderation for the GOP on the issue or is this fight just going to get worse? And how do Latino voters enter into the equation?

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Yesterday was a big day in the battle over gay marriage. The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, but also unanimously agreed to keep in place the 18,000 marriages that took place before the November election. Protestors gathered all across the state to condemn the decision, and we’ve got audio from the West Hollywood protest, featuring Kathy Griffin, Drew Berrymore, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. But these protests weren’t anywhere as big as those right after the election, and this brings up the question: how does the movement sustain the enthusiasm and organization that it lacked during the “No on Prop 8″ campaign?

A big question mark on this issue is President Obama, whose support of civil unions was often believed to be a feint for a truly progressive stance. That belief hasn’t bourn out, as the President has been virtually silent on both Prop 8 and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. What gives, Mr. President? You can commend yourself for nominating a Latina to the Supreme Court while you totally ignore another minority group that desperately needs leadership? Maegan and Teresa discuss what would be the best way forward for marriage equality, including legal arguments and possible best practices.

That big nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a big deal, of course, and while it’s pretty unlikely Sotomayor is going to be denied, could she turn out to be the Democratic version of David Souter? And what is the media doing paying any attention to what Mitt Romney says about this issue? He has nothing to do with Sotomayor’s confirmation. It’s all the media’s push for drama. But since we love the drama, what can the GOP hang their opposition of Sotomayor on? Racism? Playing identity politics, which Teresa denounces as a big part of why she doesn’t consider herself a Democrat?

Finally, we touch on Mr. Bow-Tie Himself, Tucker Carlson, and his feeble-looking attempt to counter The Huffington Post? With The Daily Caller, is the Right starting to believe that talk radio is being marginalized, so they have to jump into the online realm? Can the conservatives match the relentless nature of Arianna Huffington and her work with the internet newspaper? Carlson’s got his work cut out for him, certainly.

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

As the recently released film, “The Soloist,” has focused the country’s attention on the hidden beauty in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, music photographer Scott Schultz has taken things a step further by embedding himself within the community, where he discovered a thriving scene of artists – songbirds and warblers alike – making the most of their situation at Skid Row Karaoke. After months of visiting with residents and participating in their performances, Shultz has begun a photo essay for LARecord.com which shows the faces of poverty in a new light. Schultz joins hosts Ted and Maegan to share the story of how he discovered this group of people who gather each week in the basement of a church to sing, dance, and take their minds off their troubles. (Since the last time they had updated music was in the mid-90s, it’s not surprising that the most popular song is Will Smith’s “Wild Wild West.”)

The pictures, which can be seen here, are inspiring and remind us that Skid Row is more than just a street corner where people with bad luck end up. It’s a community, with photography groups, basketball clubs, and other organizations. The big question is, can these images, and The Soloist, change people’s perception of homelessness or inspire them to take action?

Schultz encourages anyone interested in donating new karaoke tunes or heping out in another capacity reach out to him at scott@larecord.com. He also recommends visiting the Downtown Women’s Center or Food Not Bombs.

In other news we discuss the gossip surrounding Jon Huntsman, the GOP Governor of Utah, who was named Ambassador to China. He’s a telegenic figure, a moderate and popular Republican, and a possible threat to Obama in 2012, so is this a shrewd move by the President, eliminating a major challenger? Is he the best person for the job? (Who cares? What are his politics? That’s FAR more important than qualifications!) Could this work against Democrats in the long run, elevating Huntsman and giving him real foreign policy credentials for a 2016 run? And why is Huntsman agreeing? A curious situation, all around.

Maegan also addresses a new study released by the Center for American Progress, showing overwhelming support for progressive issues among younger voters. It’s from a liberal think-tank, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, but still, it’s an interesting development. And finally, the first Twitter lawsuit has emerged, where a conservative blogger, #tcot founder Michael Leahy, is suing someone for tweeted libel because she mocked his tax situation. If successful, it would set a huge precedent for online rights, and Maegan and Ted ponder its possible ramifications on the online world for both “citizen” and “real” journalists.

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

This week, Ted, Teresa, and Maegan talk the ethics of outing closeted lawmakers. Last week, the movie Outrage opened, a new documentary by the compelling filmmaker Kirby Dick, who’s previously confronted the MPAA’s rating system and the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal. This time he’s going after Congressmen, Senators, and other elected officials, most of them Republicans, who have held anti-gay positions in public while hiding their own homosexuality in private. Kirby names names in the film, which many news outlets have refused to do in reviewing the film. We have an exclusive short interview on today’s show with Dick, as he talks about the news coverage and calls out these lawmakers as hypocrites. But the film raises thorny ethical issues. A person’s sexuality is intensely personal; what right is it of Kirby’s to expose these people? After all, it’s not against the law to be a hypocrite.

Moving on to lighter subjects, the White House Correspondents Dinner held its own fair share of laughs and even a few groan-worthy moments. But most people agree President Obama knocked it out of the park, right? He was hilarious, certainly, but should the President of the Free World be making so many mean-spirited remarks? Obama’s acid tongue has more than a few similarities to a past presidential jokester: President George W. Bush. And what about the Wanda Sykes roast? She had a few choice lines, and the biggest one – calling Rush Limbaugh a terrorist and accusing him of being the 20th hijacker – is getting some nasty responses from the beltway. Was she out of bounds? Can a joke about 9/11 be funny, even if it’s tasteless?

Finally, we talk the new Star Trek movie. Our resident trekkie, Teresa, calls out the moviemakers for their portrayal of torture: they show it without dealing with any of the issues surrounding it. Can a summer blockbuster like this preserve the brainy thought-provoking aspects of the Star Trek franchise while still corralling a new audience? And what’s with all the mocking of trekkies by the movie’s stars, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, on SNL? You do know that trekkies pay your bills, right? All this on today’s Wilshire & Washington!

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

With Supreme Court buzz dominating DC, gender issues are suddenly back in style despite the President’s recent declaration at his 100 Days press conference that protecting abortion rights was not a high priority on his agenda. Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, joins us for a fascinating discussion about equality in Obama’s alleged post-gender, post-race administration. Is this really a new era? Maegan wonders if we’re perpetuating tired, unnecessarily adversarial talking points from the 1960s and stalling our progress on womens rights in general. Should we reframe our approach to the issues? On the SCOTUS front, Teresa asks why it is assumed that a male judge can’t understand the same issues with the same “empathy” as a female judge. If we want smart, competent judges, why does it matter what gender they are? Is this all just the result of a generational gap in which there’s a disconnect on the part of younger, privileged women from the realities of history? And for the Grand Finale: What of the possibility of a gay or lesbian appointment, or selecting someone who isn’t a member of the “intellectual elite?”

Speaking of misogynist, homophobic culture wars: Ted, Maegan and Teresa also tackle the fascinating issue of the Ms. California and her eyebrow-raising stance on marriage rights. While you were looking at her boobs, Carrie Prejean apparently thought it was OK to share her opinion, but was it in an appropriate context? Do the promoters of the contest have the right to strip her of her title for making these statements, or are we just a masochistic nation that loves to persecute pretty blonde girls, as Britney Spears suggested in her cover of Bobby Brown’s “My Perogative”?

Oh, and this weekend there’s a tiny little thing called the White House Correspondents Dinner, with host Wanda Sykes and possibly President Obama. (Gay women are taking over the world, it seems!) Should we really be cracking light-hearted jokes about the dilapidated state of our union these days, and is it appropriate for the MSMers to be so chummy with people in power? (We hear Judy Miller has awesome seats in the coat room this year.)

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right.

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.