From the Dec. 28 Media Culpa column of the Village Voice.

An excerpt:

'Twas the week before Christmas, and from the White House to the Meadowlands, the press opened its stocking to find the usual lump of coal—Santa/Jesus' payback for ignoring the good news about Iraq and the Jets' offense.

Explaining why polls show an increasing number of Americans turning against his war, President Bush told a December 20 press conference that it was because TVs beamed back images of terror and carnage from Baghdad. "What they don't see," he said, "are the small businesses starting, 15 of the 18 provinces are relatively stable, where progress is being made; life is better now than it was under Saddam Hussein. And so there is—there are very hopeful signs."

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Jet quarterback Chad Pennington was berating his own press corps for abusing the "opportunity to be around some of the greatest athletes in the world." The steamed signal-caller told reporters, "It's not your right. It's a privilege. And it is your job."

Since the holiday season is the time o' Top 10 lists and Dickensian rendezvous with ghosts of sins past and present, the critiques from Chad and the prez were well suited to end a year's worth of press bashing. While everyone from Alan Keyes to Martha Stewart and O.J. Simpson to Japanese crown prince Naruhito took their shots at the working press this year, a few charges stand out—some fair and some far-fetched.