WORST PERSON – CASEY SMITH
LINDSAY LOHAN
From a bar brawl to one extremely mediocre movie, actress Lindsay Lohan did not have an ideal year. After starting 2012 off relatively calm, things started to spiral downward for Lohan during the summer. Lohan was in a car accident with an 18-wheeler in June. Witnesses say she lied about who was driving and removed a bag from the car after the accident. Hopes were high for a comeback when Lohan was cast in the Lifetime movie “Liz and Dick,” but the movie received scathing reviews after the November premiere. A few days later Lohan was charged with assault after an altercation in a Manhattan nightclub. Add all of this to being absent from community service requirements, getting rushed to the hospital after being found non-responsive and fleeing the scene of a crime. Even Charlie Sheen had to help her out at one point. Hopefully, Lohan will get it together in 2013. Otherwise, you can’t sit with us.
 
WORST ETHICS – HANNAH ROGERS
BROADCAST NEWS COVERAGE
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t completely hate broadcast news organizations. And maybe it’s because Twitter has taken off as a news delivery. Maybe it’s because society demands information so quickly that broadcast networks must feed the need for instant gratification. But as a journalist and a human being, I can’t condone the transformation of news into entertainment solely for ratings, attention and desire to pander to the viewers.
The 2012 election was poorly covered. For example, the third-party candidates were ignored because they didn’t fit the narrative of what the networks were trying to create. The point of journalism is that it gives voices to the voiceless, and journalists should not just reinforce stereotypes and preconceived notions. Shootings such as Aurora and Newtown, important events, became so misreported and skewed that those spreading misinformation should have resigned. Furthermore, 24-hour coverage simply glorified the events and turned them into a disgusting display. And even smaller events made me question the integrity and competence of those producing the stories – for example, the misreporting of the Supreme Court healthcare decision by networks like CNN and FOX and then their lack of regret in their supposed apologies.
We all make mistakes, but there’s a limit. It’s embarrassing, unprofessional and gives all media organizations a poor reputation when major broadcast networks disregard journalism ethics and refuse to repent.
             
 
WORST APP – CHRISTINE BOWMAN
APPLE MAPS
Stories of this flawed global positioning system flooded the Twitter and Instagram stage earlier in 2012. Paths to unmarked roads, over non-existent bridges and into the ocean were all suggested through this system. The Apple machine had to revamp this program before issuing a much-needed update. It all started with the company deciding to switch from Google Maps to an Apple-generated product for iOS 6. This move was detrimental to the company as the fail photos started pouring in from unhappy costumers. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook issued a statement of apology regarding the public’s unpleasant reviews of its product, which suggested the product would get better as more people used it and the company was building it from the ground up. No matter what was really done, smart phone users trust the Google Map app for directions. Something about all of those pixelated images and misconfigured buildings makes some hesitant to trust Apple Maps ever again.
 
WORST MOVIE – CALEB BATES
DARK SHADOWS
In this macabre comedy, Tim Burton attempted to hop on the vampire train into “so bad it’s good” territory, but he overshot his mark. Just like almost every Burton movie in the past 10 years, “Dark Shadows” features Johnny Depp playing a pale, eccentric lead. The shameless recycling of ideas even extends to the plot of the movie, which is based on a 1970s soap opera. “Dark Shadows” is a sloppily written movie with cheap laughs and predictable characters.
 
WORST APOCALYPSE – CANDACE BARNETTE
MAYAN APOCALYPSE
This was supposed to be a big deal. December 21, 2012. Doomsday. Rain of fire falling from the sky. Giant fissures opening up across the earth’s surface, enveloping entire cities. Homeless people pillaging streets as chunks of outer space hurtle to the ground. There were books and websites dedicated to offering survival tips to the population during this crisis. Yet, other than an unusually obnoxious amount of Tweeters and Facebookians offering to take all money off your hands prior to the Armageddon, it was a day like any other. Worst. Apocalypse. Ever.
 
WORST PERSON – CANDACE BARNETTE
HONEY BOO BOO
After Alana Thompson made her debut on “Toddlers and Tiaras,” the audience was flabbergasted. “A dollar makes me holler,” she announced to the world. What? What does that even mean? As with almost everything this child says, America is left struggling to comprehend. So when TLC launched “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” America watched. With morbid curiosity, America watched the Honey Boo Boo Child’s entire family. A train wreck doesn’t quite suffice. More like an airplane of violent criminals plummeting into a train of dangerous zoo animals in the middle of New York City, wreaking havoc on a nearby mall. Also, the Internet shut down. But no matter how many IQ points are making a desperate flee from your brain, you can’t stop watching.
 
WORST MUSIC – DANIEL HART
POP LYRICS
Pop music can be some of the best music in the world, and 2012 had shining examples of that. But lazy, unimaginative lyrics were an issue across the board. This doesn’t always have to be the case, but by the end of 2012 imaginative lyrics seemed to be nonexistent on the radio. Not that the songs were necessarily bad. Songs are an amalgamation of music and lyrics, but even if it sounds great, if the lyrics are clichés, they’re clichés. Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” for example. It’s a fun song, and you can sing along to it triumphantly, sure, but my 9-year-old sister could write those lyrics. There’s no imagination really; she even settles for 2012’s easiest cliché with the line about “some indie record that’s much cooler than mine.” Ke$ha’s “Die Young” is another offender. “Let’s dance until we die?” “I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums?” I’m happy musicians like Taylor Swift and Ke$ha can draw a nice paycheck for performing and creating art, but some accountability in the lyrics department couldn’t hurt. Here’s to lyrical growth in 2013!