smith, who s leaving politico for buzzfeed. what is that? and a look back at our most provocative interviews of 2011. i m howard kurtz, and this is the christmas day edition of reliable sources. it s been a better year for scandal. some sleazy, some superficial, all devoured by the media. perhaps the most chilling came from the world of sports. first at penn state, then at syracuse university with popular coaches accused of horrendous acts. in retrospect, i you know, i shouldn t have showered with these kids. what s it? yeah, well, that s what hits me the most. are you a pedophile? no. another major scandal involved a global media corporation, the one run by rupert murdoch with a slew of top executives arrested in a massive phone hacking operation. did you close the paper down because of the criminality? yes, we felt ashamed at what had happened and wanted to bring it to a close. and there were the inevitable political sex scandals. one topping a c