Wall St Journal's "Skinny Obama" story was first done 6 mos ago ... by The Onion!

After the madness set off by my John Edwards-National Enquirer story (No. 1 on BuzzTracker as I write this), this is the perfect MSM-related story to end the week on: A fantastically ill-advised trend piece ran in the Wall Street Journal today with the headline, "Is Obama Too Physically Fit to Be President?" Wait, it gets better. If you're a regular viewer of the Onion News Network, you know where I'm going with this.

The story asks this vital question of the day: "In a nation in which 66% of the voting-age population is overweight and 32% is obese, could Sen. Obama's skinniness be a liability? Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them."

Forget the fact that President Bush — a workout freak also well within normal body weight — is mentioned nowhere in the story. Forget that in a poll accompanying the story on the WSJ's web site, readers rejected by an amusingly large margin the story's premise and Fox News-y tone ("some people say"). Here's the very best part. The story was deconstructed six months ago on the Onion News Network when it appeared as a parody! Take a look.

As Obese Population Rises, More Candidates Courting The Fat Vote

Talk about an advanced case of trolling!

It wasn't until I sat down at my TiVo that I made the connection. My TiVo has a wireless network adapter and I subscribe to a number of downloadable shows, including the ONN. (Find Programs > Download > Browse Videos > Comedy > The Onion) TiVo won't let me queue more than five ONN videos at a time, though, and I refuse to delete "Bush Pledges to Make Iraq War More Eco-Friendly" off it. Man, I could watch that one every day.

Here's a snapshot of that poll:

Comments

[MarkC]

I remember several years ago when a Chinese newspaper picked up an Onion story not realizing it was satire. The story made the rounds and we all had a good laugh.

Here we have a Wall Street Journal reporter plagiarizing an Onion story, trolling for comments on the internet, and then publishing it as a serious news story with no acknowledgment that she did either. Amazing!

[paul t]

i wouldn't call it plagiarism, unless someone can verify that she actually watched the piece. also, it would be foolish of her to do that, because as the ONN piece points out (through satire which anyone with a 5th grade level of english comprehension would pick up on) the premiss is completely retarded. And it looks like her readers felt that way as well. Sadly, I think she, and the editorial staff at WSJ, was simply trying to engage in the same tactics that Roger Ailes and the FoxNews editorial staff use.

[Jeff]

Life immitating art

[EK]

Good job, Mr. Murdoch!