Anatomy of a MooseShag

The "b", the Baltimore Sun Media Group's free daily which is meant to kick-start the daily conversation, did just that yesterday. The conversation seemed to continue through today.

And yes, I can't believe I'm even writing about this, but here goes....

The cover of the "b" yesterday featured a young man with the huge, vertical headline of a word that begins with "D," stands for an item connected to gynecological hygiene, and rhymes with "MooseShag," which will be used from here on in as the replacement term. (Curious to read an independent definition of the actual word? Check out this Wiki.)

Inside, in Anatomy of a MooseShag, the article's author explored the contemporary cultural meaning of MooseShag -- a term which I, now in my mid-30s, probably last used seriously in early high school. Apparently, the word's been dusted off and appropriated by the young folk, and given this wonderful cultural revival in our daily lexicon of bad names we can call each other.

So yes, people seem to like to have semi-serious debates about who's a MooseShag and who's not. It's happening, in fact, all over the darn Internet. Crazy!

Anyhow, you can imagine the debate that ensued. Journalists at The Baltimore Sun -- the daily newspaper whose revenues apparently continue to bankroll the "b" -- were shocked. Shocked, I tell you!

The "b"'s editor wrote a letter to some journalists who previously complained to Sun publisher Tim Ryan (whose idea was to launch the "b" earlier this year) about the MOOSESHAG]! cover. The memo got leaked to Romenesko, of course.

Sure, journalists at a daily metro broadsheet newspaper would cringe at a sister tabloid that screams such a headline across the cover. It goes against our grain as newspeople, but also as participants and contributors in the daily discourse of civil society. Sure, we "get" there's a segment out there that loves to chatter away about "MooseShaggery." (Apparently, a word, according to the "b.")

Comments on the "b"'s Website pertaining to the article were brisk, but it certainly wasn't a tidal wave of online interaction, the way, say, Susan Reimer's controversial column on Repub VP-pick Sarah Palin generated 9,700+ responses on the Baltimore Sun's website. The "b"'s Anatomy of a MooseShag article, by comparison, had 29 comments as of 5:52 p.m. today.

We'd guess that most readers who pick the "b" up were either amused or ambivalent, or mildly disgusted, but hey, whaddya gonna do? Complain about something you get for free? That's such a MooseShag thing to do.

No, I suspect that us media folk -- especially workers at The Baltimore Sun who are a part of the Guild and who saw many of their professional colleagues leave last month -- probably talked about it more than anyone else. Out of sheer irritation. Here's why:

The Baltimore Sun Media Group last month jettisoned 55 journalists as part of a major cost-cutting measure, many of whom made indelible marks on Maryland news over decades, and chose instead to invest in a product that screams "DOUCHEBAG!" to its readers.

Oops, I mean: MooseShag!