So What's The Deal With AC360 Review?

What's this? Eliza is blogging?! Madness!

So.

As to the question of what's up with this blog, the short answer? I don't know! Blame Twitter or perhaps alien abduction, but the desire to post just hasn't been there. Yet it seems sad somehow to let this little labor of love go out with such an anticlimactic shrug. A part of me envisioned the end someday occurring with an epic Goodbye Cruel World post fueled by an overabundance of Keyboard Smash.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the news-induced mental breakdown: Anderson Cooper 360 became everything I hoped it would someday be. Okay wait, no. Let's back up. I'm certainly not suggesting this show has become perfect, and we should all now go running through a field, singing in triumph. Um, not that I've ever run that scenario in my head or anything...

Anyway. CNN is still a cable news network and cable news is still occasionally ridiculous, cringe-worthy, unintentionally hilarious, harmful...You get the picture. Dana Loesch inexplicably on my screen. Excessive Casey Anthony coverage. Political panels that are a complete waste of everyone's time. These are characteristics I have filed under Things I have Accepted With A Moderate Amount Of Hostility. This is not a promise to shut up about them, but it's not exactly going to blow anyone's mind to point out that, hey, there's a lot of sensationalism on the teevee news!

For anyone who has read this entire blog from the beginning (and I'm not sure such a person exists), I've always sort of viewed 360 as this little show with such potential. And...over the years they have endlessly frustrated me. But lately I've been placing a lot of checks on my invisible Wish They'd Do List. Fact-checking? Yep. Using politicians own statements to point out hypocrisy a la The Daily Show? Uh huh. More focus on international stories? Consistent segments that help viewers distinguish 360 from the rest of the CNN landscape? Okay, we might need to talk about how many times Snooki has shown up on the RidicuList, but in general? Yay.

I still watch the show almost every night. I just haven't had many of those ZOMG I Must Expand On My Feelings In Blog Post Form kind of moments. As for not posting the good work they've been doing (and they have been doing a lot of good work), well, that's just simple laziness on my part. So. While the initial 'review' concept is basically dead (this is where we pause to mourn), I've decided to keep the blog around. Why? The answer is pretty simple: Election 2012.

There was a time when I felt 360 was winding down and 2011 would perhaps be the last year. I don't really feel that way anymore. Sure, anything can happen, especially with Anderson becoming a talk show host (this is where we pause to marvel at the weirdness of that), but now I think the show is sticking around. And y'all! Do you realize we might be going through a general election with a candidate Palin or Bachmann? Can you think of anything more simultaneously terrifying and hilarious? And the news will be covering the whole thing with no doubt a big helping of idiocy. How could I possibly quit now?

So what's the deal with Eliza and AC360 Review? I'll be around. Lurking. Waiting to pounce with a post. Can you hear the maniacal laughter? Okay, perhaps I'm being dramatic. If something strikes my fancy, whether it be due to awesomeness, newsworthyness, unintentional hilarity, or poor coverage, I'll blog. Otherwise it will likely be sparse around these parts. But do not despair! You can still find my commentary in 140-character bursts on the Twitter. Say hi! I'm nice!

The 360 kids have come a long way. They should be proud of themselves.

PS: About the whole timeslot change. AC360 when it's still light outside? Unnatural, man. Unnatural.