LOS ANGELES, March 8 (Reuters) - If you think Charlie Sheen
has been "winning" media attention these past few weeks, you'd
be right.
The now former "Two and A Half Men" star has topped all
Internet and social media discussions since the beginning of
2011, beating out buzz and controversy surrounding the iPad,
singer Lady Gaga and U.S. President Barack Obama, according to
a survey released on Tuesday by the Global Language Monitor.
"Charlie Sheen...is everywhere. The growing pervasiveness
of social media only enhances this global echo chamber," said
Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst for the Global
Language Monitor.
Payack used an algorithm to analyze the top 20 persons (or
things) of interest on blogs, Internet-only news sites and
social media sites like Twitter and YouTube between Jan. 1 and
March 8, 2011. Sheen was first, followed by Apple's iPad, Lady
Gaga, Obama and Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin.
But the wayward TV star ranked just 18th among the top
75,000 traditional print and electronic media sites covered in
the survey.
Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and deposed
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were the top three persons of
interest on the traditional media list, "which shows what
happens when you have an editorial process that helps discern
which news is most significant for the reader," Payack said.
Still, after weeks of bizarre behavior, insults to
producers of his old show and boasts about having "Adonis DNA"
and "tiger blood," pop culture and social media users just
can't seem to get enough of the 45 year-old actor.
And on Tuesday, a comic book was added to an eclectic list
of products marking Sheen's public meltdown. Publisher
Bluewater Productions said the actor's "life, career and recent
shocking behavior" would be the subject of a 32-page biography
comic book for release this summer.
The comic joins a Sirius XM "Tiger Blood Radio" channel,
and an extra strong strain of cannabis on sale in California
medical marijuana dispensaries.
Meanwhile, as broadcaster CBS and "Two And A Half Men"
makers Warner Bros. TV pondered whether to continue production
next season without Sheen, sportsbook website JustBet.com
posted odds on what would might happen next in the saga.
Most bets are on Sheen getting arrested for driving under
the influence (56 percent) or cocaine possession (33 percent).
Sheen has insisted that he is clean and sober, and that the
only drug he is on is "called Charlie Sheen."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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