Mediapost's agency of year pick makes rival mad!

So, Mediapost has named Starcom and Mediavest its agencies of the year in a tie that also marks the fourth time in a row that Starcom has won the award. And the angry emails have already started to come in to Mediapost editor-in-chief Joe Mandese. Here's an excerpt of one that Mandese has gamely posted in his letter from the editor accompanying the agency of the year package: "The award has become a parody of itself. It's tragic and quite sad when recognition in our side of the business is so rare and yet so important as we try to create the next generation of leaders and leadership in an industry in the midst of terrifyingly rapid transition." For more ranting, click here. In Mediapost's defense, and in the defense of agency of the year selectors everywhere, it's actually much harder to pick last year's winner again than it is to pick a new one. Just ask the folks at Adweek, who picked Deutsch (I think) for four years in a row. The editors pick agencies for three-peats, or four-peats with full realization that each time they do so, the knives aimed at them only get sharper. I don't know the ins and outs of media agencies well enough to have an informed opinion about Starcom, but if my experience in helping pick agencies of the year is any guide, the bar Starcom had to leap to win the award yet again was probably much higher than it was the first time around.