The highlights.. the headlines.. the bylines. All the news that was fit and unfit to print. Black and white and FTP-ed around the world…
First this is how YOU VOTED (via the CoalSpeaker Facebook page polls) …
85% of you said the Trump Impeachment was the biggest news of the year..
63% of you said Whistleblowers were the person of the year..
55% of you said the Irishman was the Netflix of the year..
71% of you said that AVENGERS ENDGAME was the movie of the year..
70% of you said Post Mallone was the artist of the year..
The biggest news of the year:
The Energizer Bunny Trump>
Impeachment and controversy can’t bring him down.. banners are going up in yards again.. bumper stickers on cars. His rallies are filled with boisterous fans. Maybe the 2020 election will be close, but it would appear the media is making the same mistake in their assumptions that they did in late 2015. Back before the surprise election victory just months later..
The most important person of the year>
Greta got named by TIME magazine.. But the most important person of 2019 was Mark Zuckerberg.. He was TIME mag’s person of the year a decade ago. His personal wealth rose by a mind-boggling $27.3 BILLION in 2019.. This as controversy continues over the platform where we all happily give all of our personal information on a daily basis.
The most important person of the decade>
Mark Zuckerberg!!! TIME magazine’s 2010 person of the year is the person of the decade.. Not because of the wealth he acquired in 2019, but because of the influence and power he acquired every year of this past decade. We live and work through Facebook.. we get our news curated on Facebook.. we buy and sell and on virtual yard sales.. on Facebook. Facebook has become the internet. For better or worse. Probably worse.
The generation of the year>
The boomers!
They are maligned by the zoomers.. they are laughed at by the alpahas.. but who is leading the world? Trump. Biden. Sanders. Warren. Putin. Boris Johnson. The boomers’ last dance with society isn’t over..
Biden’s “Malarkey express” is riding high from the 1960s all the way into our modern 21st century.
Biggest local story of 2019>
News broke early in 2019 of the killing of Pat Murphy.. the local Pottsville icon was murdered in New Orleans during Mardi Gras week by a prostitute. Headlines from deep in the South said “Pennsylvania businessman murdered…” Local headlines said “Local businessman dies” .. a tale of two stories. News will continue to erupt on this story in 2020 as the trial and most likely-conviction occurs.. but this year local Schuylkill County business became everyone’s business in the United States..
Biggest space news of the year>
China!! China became the first nation in the world to safely and successfully land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
Best Netflix of 2019>
STRANGER THINGS 3!
So many options to choose from.. but this season of Stranger Things became the must watch of the year. People left their July 4th celebrations in order to catch the release of the newest season. The kids grew up. Some major characters left.. but we are ready for season 4 after the amazing finality of the great American Mall in season 3
Movie of the year>
JOKER.
It may not have been the best movie of the year.. it may have been the weirdest. But it was an experience. It was a strange escape from cinema and a deep dive into the madness of mental illness. It was the most important movie of the year, making it the movie of the year…
Phoenix delivered..And we are left with the mind-shattering film that defied to many norms and gave us a brutal masterpiece that will live in infamy.
The artist of the year>
She was born after the turn of the century.. Billie Eilish..
Billie Eilish is the first artist born in the 21st century to top the Billboard 200 — and she’s reinventing what chart success looks like.. and undoubtedly will continue that in 2020.
The best sports of 2019>
Women inspired the world!!
The World Cup victory was amazing. The United States women’s soccer team won its fourth victory. And then they continued their fight for equal pay!
Pop culture moment of 2019>
The end of Skywalker..
It was not chosen for the film of the year, but the final STAR WARS in the Skywalker saga was momentous.. People from various generations emerged from hiding to see the final battle of good vs evil, the force vs the Sith.. People were impressed .. it was over. It is over..
Pop culture itself.. perhaps is over.
