the buzz log

Really, now that 2008 is over, it's kind of hard to see it go. Yes, the economy tanked, gas prices soared (suspiciously, considering their historic lows now), and conflicts dragged on and restarted—but the year also brought people the Olympics, an enthralling American political year, and, well, fill in your own.

So, while the world is well into the second day on the Gregorian 2009 calendar, it is only a Friday in some parts of the world, so the year hasn't really begun yet. (That'll be Monday, the first work day for many of us.) In that vein, let's give 2008 one last hurrah with a Buzz roundup on personalities who helped to define 2008, with article links to why they deserved their titles:

• Time's Person of the Year: Barack Obama. The most anticlimactic choice only because of its inevitability.
• New York Daily News' New Yorker of the Year: Hillary Clinton. She may not have won the nation, but if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.
• AP's Entertainer of the Year. Tina Fey. The former SNL head writer took a passing resemblance to a historical figure and ran with it.
• Los Angeles Daily News' Sportsperson of the Year: Manny Ramirez. The thud of jaws dropping echoed across the sporting world.
• Staff Care's Country Doctor of the Year: Doc Watson. A little-known award given by what's kind of a temp agency for doctors, the national organization gives a nod to the dying tradition of the house call.

And some more personalities of 2008:

• MTV's Man of the Year: Lil Wayne, aka Weezy, aka Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. MTV's Woman of the Year: Those "Twilight" fans.
• Billboard's Artist of the Year: Chris Brown.
• Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps.
• International Sports Press Association' Athlete of the Year: Usain Bolt.
• PETA's Person of the Year: Oprah Winfrey.

Filed under: Politics, Entertainment, Awards, 2008

You really like her. Emmy execs, on the other hand, had second thoughts about the former flying nun.

Actually, Sally Field channeled her "Norma Rae" days in her rebellious acceptance speech for best actress in a drama series Sunday night. Her anti-war comments got cut from the broadcast, but the people had to know: Cumulative searches for "sally field," "sally field emmy speech," and "sally field censored" sent her buzz profile soaring 1,000% percent, making her the hottest Search mover in the glitzy crowd.

As far as total number of searches, she squeezed in between the comely Katherine Heigl (whose mother discouraged her from preparing an acceptance speech) and Jaime Pressly (who thanked, among others, her lawyer).

Another big buzz came for Current TV (610%), the interactive channel that added to Al Gore's award haul. Others getting some overdue love included Robert Duvall (461%) and the miniseries "Roots" (147%) for its 30th anniversary.

However, neither farewell accolades nor much buzz were heaped upon "The Sopranos." The drama may have won best show, but the actor nominees were knocked off like mob hits. James Spader leapfrogged James Gandolfini in total buzz for his shocking outstanding actor/drama upset. In fact, the Buzz nearly embraced all category winners, but the HBO victor lagged behind loser "Grey's Anatomy" by nearly three lengths.

Speaking of bumps, a multitude of searches for "christina aguilera pregnancy" bore fruit. Her counterpart and Emmy winner Tony Bennett got some respectable attention as well, although some were distracted by his blonde at his side. Tittering look-ups for "britney spears emmy"—allegedly for the singer to make up for her MTV VMA performance—turned out to be moot.

As for the show itself, the Emmys could beat its own rating lows last year, and perhaps similarly its Buzz. In an example of searches you don't want to get, day-after inquiries on who won popped up more than 1,800%. Worse, searches for nominees were nearly a third lower than last year—which could mean people didn't care enough going into that long night. Maybe Sally should've run the show instead of Seacrest.

Filed under: Award Shows, Awards, Emmy Awards

• The Nobel Prize for Literature -- When infighting held up the panel's decision, bookworms across the country looked up from their lattes, and the prize scored several spikes in Buzz. After one disgruntled member belatedly quit over last year's winner (Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek), searches on the controversial novelist surged into the thousands.

  The Nobel finally ignored novelists altogether and recognized British playwright Harold Pinter. After seeing Pinter described as a "master of menacing drama," "theater's explorer of menace," and a pervader of "unnamed menace," Buzz started to feel a little...menaced. But our timid Pinter pause ended when the prize was announced and hundreds of thousands of new queries sent Pinter out of the Search park.

• The Mann Booker Prize -- The prestigious U.K. award also lurched out of the dugout on October 10, though with far less fuss than the Nobel. Irish novelist John Banville snagged the top honor and enjoyed a run in searches. Zadie Smith, who was also nominated, scored a jump in Buzz, but Kazuo Ishiguro -- another favorite -- struck out with zero interest online.
• The National Book Award -- Not to be outdone, this committee announced its shortlist on October 12, although it only managed to hammer home Buzz for one of its nominees. Joan Didion, the novelist and journalist with an acclaimed new memoir, made the list for nonfiction and sent searches flying. E.L. Doctorow, the other big name at bat, fouled out with nary a blip in Search.

Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't pay our respects to August Wilson. The beloved American playwright died October 2. Buzz marked his passing with a 155% jump in queries, and increased interest in his biography, his plays, and -- specifically -- "Fences," one of his best-known works. For him, we rise out of our seats in a prolonged standing ovation.

Filed under: Literature, Books, Awards