We all know that politics is a full contact sport. But does the campaign of Arkansas Republican Steve Womack have cat blood on his hands, after a “hit job” takes out a competing campaign manager’s family pet?

by Larry Elkin

There was something refreshing in the political scene Wednesday when congressional sponsors ran away, as fast as they could, from two ill-considered bills that sought to stamp out Internet piracy by more or less stamping out the Internet.

It was fun to watch politicians on both sides of the aisle scurry together in search of cover.

by Joanne Zornow

Cord cutting — taking your TV without a cable or satellite connection — is a very real phenomenon. TV execs are twitching as they note a growing trend among subscribers to drop television but keep high-speed Internet access for watching TV programming. Although the current number of cord cutting households is low, it does appear to be a growing trend with about 1 in 10 households being Web connected by cable-free.

by Bill Batson

I recently pulled a Rip Van Winkle. I did not touch a computer keyboard or cell phone from 2007 until 2011. As a resident of a village in the region of the world depicted in Washington Irving’s immortal short story, I embrace my kindred spirit Van Winkle. Skipping five years of technology in the 21st century isn’t so different than Rip Van Winkle’s 18 year hiatus during the 1700’s.

by Larry Elkin

The young people who started the Occupy Wall Street protest a few weeks ago are about to learn some important lessons about life in the grown-up world.

by Dave Zornow

On a day when the world mourns the loss of Steve Jobs and the tech industry is iWriting about the iMac-iPod-iPhone-iPad, it’s valuable to remember that the original Man-In-Black didn’t always have the Midas touch. Which makes his successes that much more remarkable.

by Dave Zornow

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of Mediapost that Joe Mandese is no fan of Nielsen. Mandese, the Editor-in-Chief at MediaPost, has frequently skewered the ratings company for things they have done and much of the time, Nielsen critics applaud his efforts. But researchers say Mandese crossed a line with last week’s story, “Nielsen Discloses Major TV Ratings Glitch, Could Impact Millions In TV Ad Buys” because there was no major glitch — with the possible exception of how MediaPost reported the story.

by Peter M. Gordon

One of my favorite series this summer is Current TV’s “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die.” Hosted by Morgan Spurlock (Director/writer/star of “Supersize Me”), the series counts down the top documentaries of the last 25 years. Documentarians like Michael Moore and Penelope Spheeris, as well as an expert panel of film industry pros and critics, discuss the impact of the films and tell the stories of how they were made.

Schadenfreude, deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others,is a German word and a morning drive and reality show formula for ratings success.

The power of the unconscious mind, the effect of emotions on thinking and our need to be part of a larger social structure were some of the points made by the NYT’s David Brooks’ keynote speech at the 2011 ARF AMS Conference.