In another example of the daftness of the media, Ken Jennings is being implicated for taking Jeopardy to task for its outmoded character. Nevermind that Jennings' blog entry is not serious criticism. Nevermind that the entry displays quite a bit of humor. Instead, focus on the interpretation that makes for a good story. "Poking fun" is not a good story. "Biting the Hand That Feeds" is.
Two possible conclusions can be drawn from the media reaction. First, that the media likes to manipulate facts in order to arrive at an attention grabbing headline. The second conclusion, which I favor the most, is that the media is stupid--TOO STUPID TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATIRE AND SERIOUS CRITICISM. What, you mean he is not serious when he suggests that Jeopardy should have a category like "Skanks from Reality TV Who Got Naked in Men's Magazines?" Read the entry for yourself, and I am sure you will share my incredulity about the overwrought media reception. In more recent entries Jennings has comments and links to the story and reactions. If Jennings started the blog in order to gain publicity for his upcoming book, then he has succeeded.
While Jennings is seemingly a straight-laced dork, as evidenced by the brain map on his page, he does have some interesting things to say about trivia and movies. Lawyers might be especially interested in his discussions of high profile court cases where trivia was affected. Jennings provides good summaries and analysis, despite not being a lawyer.
Actually, maybe Jennings is not as straight-laced as he looks. Some of his postings could actually be called edgy, and his favorite movies list (including Fight Club, Trainspotting, and A Clockwork Orange) is at least indicative of someone who is open-minded and not overly conservative in his values.
