With articles about cats, metrosexuals and Portland, what’s not to love about the most emailed list? Predicting what articles will top the list is a sport, and without it, there would be no excuse for the interminable coverage of the iPhone.

But Jon Friedman wonders if having a popularity contest among news articles only proves how lowly the public’s true interests are. Pasta recipes outperform news from Baghdad, which is especially sad considering how easy pasta is to make. Friedman’s biggest accusation about the list: he’s never on it.

Along with reflecting his unpopularity, Friedman also worries that most emailed lists will encourage publishers to print more soft news:

There is also the grim possibility that some editors, who would like to goose their operations' page-view counts, will gravitate toward publishing puffy human-interest or gossipy stories instead of hard news.

All of these concerns sound vaguely familiar, though previously articulated in a much more amusing way.

Oh yes, that Onion article: 'Most E-Mailed' List Tearing New York Times' Newsroom Apart from April. They raised same concern in their version:

Executive editor Bill Keller said he believes that the Most E-Mailed list is causing "troubling" changes in the Times' editorial focus, as reporters increasingly neglect less attractive assignments.

"I've always encouraged our journalists to follow their instincts," Keller said. "But now I'm considering a more hands-on approach, especially since I've received no fewer than four 800-word pieces on 'man dates' in the past week alone."

Too bad this is satire; we’ve been hankering for a good man-date article. The war in Iraq is way depressing.

Barry Diller Learns What it Felt Like to be Diane Von Furstenberg When the Wrap Dress First Imploded « Next — Prev » Brian Williams Survives His SNL Debut