Gotta love the end of the year. A time for celebration, a time for reflection, a time during which, no matter what our creed–whether we celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Festivus or the simple arrival of a New Year–we come together to clasp our hands, raise our voices, and worship at the altar of itemized aggregation.
Yep: ’tis the season…for lists! Long lists, short lists, funny lists, sad lists, lists with a point, lists with no point at all–and lists, most often, consisting of ten items! Because what’s good for Letterman is good for us all!
But why read through all the lists out there–which might take, literally, minutes–when you can have the best collected for you? In the spirit of the holidays, then, we give you…our top ten of the Top Ten lists of 2008. Because Number 1 on our list, dear reader, is you.
1. Top 10 Newspaper Industry Stories of 2008 (Editor & Publisher)
2. Top 10 Media Blunders (Politico)
3. Top 10 Worst Media Moments of 2008 (Gawker)
4. Top 10 Stinkiest Media Performances of 2008 (The Huffington Post)
5. Top 10 Photos of 2008 (National Geographic)
6. Top 10 Quotes of 2008 (New York Daily News)
7. Top 10 Books of 2008 (New York magazine)
8. Top 10 Campaign Gaffes of 2008 (Time)
9. Top 10 Literary Magazines of 2008 (Virginia Quarterly Review)
10. Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2008 (Foreign Policy)
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.