MYSTERY OF BARBARO MEDIA COVERAGE SOLVED: You would think that the way print, radio and TV outlets have covered the inevitable death of Barbaro, nearly every multi-cellular organism on the North American continent is currently curled up in a ball in the corner, emotionally shattered and gripped with tear-filled grief.

Now for the truth: After reading hundreds of posts (accompanied by the listed age and gender of posters) on Barbaro’s message board on the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s website, you can easily peg who is obsessed by the equine’s demise:

(Barbaro corrals coveted near-dead demographic)
Here is a small sampling of posts that Barbaro *received* (am I the only one weirded out by this?):

Now that we’ve determined who really cares about Barbaro, the overkill coverage makes perfect sense, since those are the only folks still willing to force down what the TV, radio and print media serves up.