If you need any more evidence of the awesome power of the media to decide what qualifies as news in this country, the power of the blogosphere to subsequently re-decide what qualifies as news, and the power of the media to then change its mind and report on what the blogosphere is saying -- look no further than the recent multimedia kerfuffle over Stephen Colbert, and his comments at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

If you're reading this you probably already know how the story goes, so I won't bother repeating the details. The basic gist is that the media was going to ignore it, and then the blogosphere went ape-shit, and now it's become the most important thing in the universe. We're now into day five of Colbertpalooza.

I'm a big fan of Stephen Colbert, I like his show a lot, and I'm not just saying that in the way that inside-the-beltway kool-kids do before they dismiss his performance as unfunny. For one thing, I actually do watch his show, and for another, I thought he was funny. But I can't help thinking that this whole Colbert thing may have been blown way out of proportion. I hope that Stephen Colbert appreciates the spirited defense he has received this week from his friends in the blogosphere, but deep down I fear that he's sitting behind a computer somewhere laughing his ass off at the utter inanity of the whole situation.

Personally, I'm not really in a position to pass judgment, as I've been actively feeding the hysteria myself, as both a news consumer and as a relatively prominent member of the lefty blogosphere (albeit from the red-headed stepchild of lefty blogs: a discussion forum).

But that's not all. I also dedicated a full hour of my public-access cable TV news program "Skinner Box" to discussing the issue. If you've never seen it, "Skinner Box" is one of those journalists' roundtable-type programs, based loosely on "The McLaughlin Group," except instead of John McLaughlin you get me in a John McLaughlin mask. And instead of being tongue-lashed by John McLaughlin, the reporters are sealed inside little glass cages, where depending on what they say I can punish them with electric shocks or reward them with food pellets.

Here's a brief transcript from this week's program:

SKINNER (AS JOHN MCLAUGHLIN): (In booming Boston accent) This week in the "Skinnah Box." Issue numbah one: Colbert in the Crosshairs. Ovah the Line, or Standing O? Elizabeth Boooooo-Millah.

ELISABETH BUMILLER (NEW YORK TIMES): Colbert who? Bzzzzt. Ow! What the hell did you do that for?

SKINNER: Because I can. Richahd Cohen.

RICHARD COHEN (WASHINGTON POST): I am a funny guy. This is well known in certain circles, which is why, even back in elementary school, I was sometimes asked by the teacher to "say something funny." And Stephen Colbert wasn't funny. Bzzzzt. Sonofabitch!

SKINNER: You're both WRONG! The correct answer is: Standing O. Issue numbah two: The Stand-Up Cover-Up. Was there a media blackout? Anonymous Blogger Guy.

ANONYMOUS BLOGGER GUY: (In silhouette, with voice disguised) Absolutely.

SKINNER: Congratulations. You get a food pellet. (Presses button on desk, and a hard brown food pellet is dispensed into a metal tin in the box of Anonymous Blogger Guy)

ANONYMOUS BLOGGER GUY: What the hell is this? Bzzzzt. Jesus Christ! (Food pellet drops onto the cold metal floor of the box, and then falls through the metal grate onto the shredded newspaper below.)

SKINNER: It's Journalist Chow. Keeps 'em lean and hungry. You bloggers should eat some sometime. And so should you journalists. Hungry Howahd Kurtz!

HOWARD KURTZ (WASHINGTON POST): I-- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. Ow! You little twerp! I didn't even say anything yet!

SKINNER: You're so completely full of shit almost all the time that I couldn't help myself.

It's great. Kinda like my own personal Milgram experiment.

So, yes, I've been doing my part to feed the frenzy. But can you really blame me? It's now so big that the TV news channels have each given it a catchy title with full graphical treatment. Here's CNN's effort, which gives a pretty sharp indication of why they're losing market share to the other cable news networks:



Fox News went for a more overtly emotional appeal:



Even the normally staid PBS got into the act. Check out this eye-catching graphic from the News Hour with Jim Lehrer:



And just in case you're wondering (and I'm sure you are): Shields thought Colbert was funny. Gigot -- not so much.