Humidity is rising…
Barometer’s getting low
According to our sources…
Your TV’s the place to go
Cause tonight, for the first time
At just about half-past ten
Right there on your TV set
It’s gonna start raining men…!
The London Daily Telegraph has just released its list of the fifty most influential pundits in the U.S. Here are the top ten:
Hmm. I can’t be sure, but looks like the Top Ten have something in common. (Besides a penchant for a crisply starched shirt collar.) That’s right…
It’s raining men!
Hallelujah!
It’s raining men!
Every specimen!
Tall, blonde, dark and lean
Rough and tough and strong and mean…!
Now, to be fair, there are some Opinion-Totin’ Ladies on the list, too. Seven of them. (Hey, 14 percent ain’t bad!) And the Telegraph list is arguable. Very. (Wrote one astute commenter to the Telegraph, reacting to the list’s choice for Runner-Up Influencer: “Chris Matthews?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” And writes this commenter: say what you want about her, but doesn’t MoDowd belong on the list? And, for that matter, O’Reilly?)
Still, it’s worth wondering why the vast majority of pundits are men—not just on the list, but in the world it’s meant to quantify. Where are the pundettes?
Megan, what you're raising here is obviously hugely important, and I'm glad you note it. I'm sometimes flabbergasted at how dominant male voices are in punditry -- not because the reasons for it are a mystery, but rather because their dominance is so very thorough.
But how did you overlook the factor of race? Even your suggested alternates (Dowd, O'Reilly) are white. Isn't that at least as relevant?
Posted by Dissid3nt
on Sun 4 May 2008 at 06:07 PM