IP Democracy: Bart Says Wall Street Journal is Better Than Ever

My good and kind friend Gary Arlen dropped me a line last night to let me know that the opening chalkboard gag in "The Simpsons" was Bart Simpson writing "The Wall Street Journal is Better Than Ever." A very, very clever inside-the-News-Corp. family joke that pokes fun at the fears of what will happen to the world's greatest newspaper now that Rupert Murdoch is in charge.

Of course it could also be the case, as Gary suggested to me, that the Simpsons' writers were sucking up to Fox management, but I don't think so. It's a subversive way of acknowledging what everybody thinks will happen to the Journal, namely that it will slide into tabloid sensationalism with a right-wing tilt.

In any event, I hunted for an image of the chalkboard or a replay of the episode in question, entitled "The Homer of Seville," but struck out. The Simpsons is simply not available online, on either a free or paid basis. I did find, amazingly, this Wikipedia episode synopsis (the episode is a new one) that flags the "Wall Street Journal is Better Than Ever" gag, but couldn't find an image.

So, applying my fairly weak image creation skills, I created the following mock-up of what the gag must have looked like. A kind soul who shall remain nameless sent me an actual still of the chalkboard gag. Thanks!

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 1, 2007 11:10 AM to IP Democracy