Levi Johnston has his say; some lady entertainment 'journalists' don't like that

On CNN's Reliable Sources, there was a segment about Levi Johnston and his recent interviews with Tyra Banks and the CBS Early Show. Howard Kurtz, along with Inside Edition's Deborah Norville and Amy Argetsinger discussed the relevance of the story, whether the interviewers did a thorough enough job asking follow-up questions, and the changing priorities of morning show interviewers due to fierce competition. While Norville, very accurately, pointed out that CBS's Maggie Rodriquez failed to ask probing follow-up questions, there wasn't any acknowledgement of Rodriguez's unprofessionalism. There was a decidedly snotty tone when she spoke directly to Levi, as if she resented the fact that Levi was doing the interview in the first place.

There has been other instances when Rodriguez's bias shined through, specifically any story pitting Jennifer Aniston against either Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. The most vivid example was when Marley and Me was the number 1 movie over the Christmas holiday. Not only did she gloat about this so-called victory, she downplayed the importance of award nominations that Button secured, stating that box office success was more important. Of course, I haven't heard her lamenting the box office success of Paul Blart or Fast and Furious, although they topped the box office too. Of course, she did crow about He's Just Not Into You, another Aniston vehicle. And she did try to diffuse the Burger King Square Pants controversy by reminding the audience about the Friends episode when Ross and Rachel rapped Baby Got Back to their baby daughter, as if the presence of Aniston can and should cancel out any objections parents should have about the commercial. Personally, it would behoove the CBS Early Show to chip in for an Aniston exorcism, given that Maggie can't stop herself from interjecting Jennifer Aniston into any discussion.

Then there's Showbiz Tonight's Brooke Anderson who took major exception when Levi opted to talk about his breakup. There was very little acknowledgement of Bristol and Sarah Palin talking about this on Fox; how the more liberal part of the media used Levi's Facebook or MySpace profile page to paint him as some careless child-hating horndog who knocked the Republican VP candidate's daughter; and the subsequent reports about his personal and family situations like his mother's arrest and his quitting a job that Palin procured for him. Seems to me that Levi had plenty to address about himself and his situation and it seemed ridiculous that Anderson had a problem with it. Anderson has no problem moderating discussions about the Bachelor debacle, especially when the discussion was pro-dumped chick Melissa. Or any story discussing actresses' failed love lives. But it's totally wrong for someone without the access to receptive media outlets to accept an offer to discuss his side of things?

To me, Levi didn't come across as some opportunistic douchebag, although it's too early to stake anything on this assessment. He's a 19 year old kid who stated his position; it's time for him to get off of the Hollywood talk circuit. If he stops talking at this point, he will be in a great position. If he doesn't try to become an actor or model in Hollywood, it'll be even better. He is good-looking enough to do some modeling, but not necessarily runway/Paris stuff. If he's smart, he would consider pursuing opportunities associated with outdoor sports; I'm sure that there are high-end sporting gear catalogs who need attractive, yet authentic-looking men to showcase their products. Or he can strike up some kind of deal within Alaska so he can be near his child.

As for the Andersons and Rodriguezes of the entertainment press, it's time to retire the Team Dumped Chick T-shirts and make an attempt to accept that men have just as much right to clear the air as women do. And since Levi hasn't channeled Fred Durst, Jason Mewes, Michael Bergin, or John Mayer, when it came to Bristol, then there shouldn't have been a whiff of sanctimonious princess squawking.