THE GREAT DEBATE:  It's rather pathetic.  I am almost 48-hours late in writing my response to the debate... how old-media of me.  Truth be told, I was burned out on the Brummett issue and simply overwhelmed with all of your emails.  Now that I've had a day to recover from the so-called cage fight, here's my thoughts on how the Great Debate went down...  

I'm biased, but I think I won.  As the Arkansas Times reports, Brummett apologized.  Done and done.  With that said, he made some very valid points, especially in regards to the live streaming web camera on my desk.  Brummett took issue with showing the more mundane moments of my day, specifically the times when I'm typing away on my computer with my mouse clicky (so pretty much  what people are watching right this second as I write).  No solutions yet and I'm still not sure I entirely agree, but point duly noted.  I'm on it. 

In case you missed the media debate of the year, have no fear, KATV and the Arkansas blogosphere have got you covered.   On our website, you can watch the full 90-minute debate by clicking here and view some pictures from the big night here.  I think bloggers Lance Turner and Jason Tolbert win the award for most impressive coverage (They have video.  And here at CYN, we are impressed by such techno-geeky things).  Blake Rutherford and David Kinkade tie for second (who by the way are in the middle of their own feud over who is the "most handsome blogger in the state).  And the Arkansas Times comes in third (Simply because they were late to the game.. I'm even worse).

CORRUPTION:  That's the theme of today's CYN story.  It stems from the scandal surrounding the Governor of Illinois and Barack Obama's empty senate seat.  With 7,192 votes cast, the winning assignment was, "The safeguards in place to protect taxpayers from illegal activity by elected officials." 

This is a complex issue with no one governing body in charge of these types of crimes.  So far I've spoken with the FBI, the Arkansas Ethics Commission, and the Attorney General's Office.  I'm still hoping to speak with the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney, Larry Jegley.  The full story will air tonight at 6PM. 

Until then, take a look at this USA Today Website.  It shows that from 1998 to 2007,  Arkansas has had 80 public corruption convictions.  Illinois has had 502.  But North Dakota, with 53 convictions, wins the award for the most corrupt state on a per-capita basis.  North Dakota? 

KARAOKE: There will be no Daily Debrief tonight due to 103.7 The Buzz's annual "Celebrity Christmas Karaoke" benefiting Youth Home.  All of the Channel 7 ladies are performing a surprise number.  So sorry to disappoint, but we will be back tomorrow with Matt Decample as our special guest.  He is the spokesman for Governor Mike Beebe.