A lengthy profile of the Taiwanese producers of those bizarre, tabloidesque stagings of current events using CG animation. If you haven’t seen them yet, their often lurid, usually sensational and consistently hilarious videos are not to be missed. Their recounting of Sarah Palin’s rise to prominence, for instance, literally shows a CG-animated Sarah Palin shooting at bears from a helicopter, parachuting into a “Teabagger Rally” in a chute that says “Sarah 2012,” and destroying a Speak ’n’ Spell in frustration as she types her infamous sniglet “refudiate.”

Next Media’s novel approach to the news is the brainchild of Hong Kong tabloid tycoon Jimmy Lai, who sees it as a way to rejuvenate interest in his brand of coverage in the face of declining interest in his print products. As a response to the changing fortunes of the news industry, this one is both horrific and brilliant, and it may be the best practical expression yet of Stephen Colbert’s concept of truthiness. Let’s hope it remains a curious byproduct of Taiwan and is not copied elsewhere. Read the full article here.

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