Under Strict Embargo

So who or what has been dominating the media agenda in 2007? Well Canadian news broker Influence Communications has just released an analysis of 632 million print and broadcast news items across 120 countries and Paris Hilton, not for the first time, is on top. Well almost, Ms Hilton is this year’s most talked about global personality (excluding politicians) and her brief spell behind bars is the 13^th most popular story of the year so far. Thankfully celebrity culture doesn’t completely dominate with ‘proper news’ like the the Iraq War and the 2008 US Presidential race the most covered stories to date. See the Top 15 below and Press Gazette’s piece:

1. War in Iraq
2. US 2008 presidential elections
3. Iran nuclear threat
4. War on Taliban
5. Blair’s exit from office
6. Virginia Tech shootings
7. Harry Potter, the final book
8. French general elections
9. G8 summit
10. Execution of Saddam Hussein
11. iPhone launch
12. Madeleine McCann’s disappearance
13. Paris Hilton in jail
14. Mattel recalls toys
15. Madonna’s adoption problems

It’s perhaps not surprising that one of the most hyped consumer product launches of the year, Apple’s iPhone is only just outside the top ten. As the guys at 10 Zen Monkeys point out, this summer saw a “pop culture battle between two empires – one high-tech, one high-rise”, especially in the US media. The following from their site is I think the best selection of the many comparisons between the Sidekick/BlackBerry/Motorola weilding star and the must have gadget of 2007…

iPhone: Simple to use.
Paris Hilton: Simple.

iPhone: Well-protected against viruses.
Paris Hilton: Has herpes.

iPhone: Responds to touch from multiple fingers at once.
Paris Hilton: Responds to touch from multiple fingers at once.

iPhone: Face consists of hard, transparent plastic shell
Paris: Face consists of hard, transparent plastic shell

iPhone: Has at least 4 gigs of memory
Paris Hilton: Doesn’t

iPhone: Appeared in multi-million dollar ad campaign.
Paris Hilton: Appeared in “House of Wax.”

iPhone: Sometimes sucks.
Paris Hilton: Always…