Of Journalists, Vampires, and Cattle-Geeks I Sing

In a letter to Jim Romenesko's media news site, longtime Reason writer Glenn Garvin argues (*) that Kolchak: The Night Stalker was TV's greatest portrait of journalism in action:

Darren McGavin played reporter Carl Kolchak, who week after week busted his butt on investigative pieces uncovering rings of vampires, werewolves and zombies, only to have every single one spiked by his craven, lickspittle editors. Fierce pressure from ASNE and other special-interest lobbies got the show shut down after a single season, and ever since, vampires and their slavering editorial quislings have gotten a free pass from Hollywood.

On a related note, Ananova is claiming (**) that a team of vampire hunters in Serbia has

rammed a wooden stake through the heart of former dictator Slobodan Milosevic to stop him 'returning from the dead'.

Miroslav Milosevic, no relation to the former president, gave himself up to police who have launched an investigation.

He claimed he and his fellow vampire hunters acted to stop the former dictator returning from the dead to haunt the country.

On an unrelated note (***), Agence France-Press (****) says a calf in Chandpur has turned carnivorous, with Indians flocking by the hundreds to watch it eat live chicks. Local experts offer two rival explanations: "I think the calf is suffering from pika" and "I guess the calf was a tiger in his previous birth." Kolchak would've known which angle to pursue.

* In terms strikingly similar to the ones he deploys in his internal editorial emails.

** Caveat: Articles in Ananova have been known to fall short of full scientific proof.

*** But it seems to fit.

**** Usually more reliable than Ananova.