The TOP 20 A&E STORIES of 2011 as of DEC 1, 2011

Below are the Arts and Entertainment Stories based out of Illinois and Missouri that made a national impact in the news listed in ALPHABETICAL ORDER based on weekly BITZ reports and their order of newsworthiness according to OUTTOWN (“THE BIG A&E STORY IS …”). You can vote for as many as five on the list and put your choices in the comment box below. DEADLINE is DEC 21.Your results, as well as OUTTOWNs choices, will be posted in OUTTOWNs YEAR END TALLY LISTS during the week on DEC 26!

1.Al Roker visits tornado torn Joplin, Mo

2.Bob Costas controversial interview with former PennState coach Jerry Sandusky on NBC's Rock Center makes headlines(Costas started his professional career in St. Louis)

3.Charlie Sheen’s Winning tour stop in Chicago (PICTURED)

4.Derrick Rose becomes youngest player to win NBA MVP at 23 (Rose plays for the Chicago Bulls and is a native of Chicago)

5.Eminem voted King of Hip Hop by Rolling Stone (Eminem was born in St Joseph, Mo and raised in various cities in Missouri during his pre teens) (PICTURED)

6.Foxx Starstruckk sues SNL’s Lonely Island over royalties (FS is based in St Louis) (PICTURED)

7.Jane Lynch hosts the Emmy Awards (Lynch is from Doloth, Ill)

8.Jennifer Hudson opens a Weight Watchers clinic in Chicago (Hudson is also from Chicago)

9.Kanye West visits Occupy Wall Street (Kanye is Chicago bred)

10.Lupe Fiasco bashes President Obama; Bill O’Reilly bashes Lupe and has rapper as a guest on Obama comment (Lupe is from Chicago; Obama is a former resident of Chicago) (PICTURED)

11.Matt Forte sets rushing record for Chicago Bears

12.(Dr.) Maya Angelou wins Medal of Freedom; makes critical comments on MLK statue (Angelou was born in St . Louis) (PICTURED)

13.Melissa McCarthy is a hit guest hosting SNL ; wins Emmy; voted New Comedy Queen for EW Mag (McCarthy is from Plainfield, Ill)

14.Michael Jordan gets fined for NBA lockout comments; players rally against his pro-owner stance; opens restaurant in Chicago(Jordan is a former Chicago resident)

15.Obama makes his fourth visit to Jay Leno (Obama is a former Chicago resident)

16.Oprah debuts OWN Network in January ; ends daytime show after 25 seasons (Oprah is a former Chicago resident) (PICTURED)

17. Rod Blagojaveich is convicted for 17 of 20 counts on bribe charges in retrial; sentenced delayed;loses law license (Blago is a reality show star and former governor of Illinois)

18. Sherri Shepherd gets married to Lamar Sally in her hometown of Chicago

19.St. Louis Cardinals win World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (PICTURED)

20.Watch The Throne CD and tour scores big with consumers (Kanye West is part of CD and tour (along with Jay Z) and he was bred in Chicago)

NOTE: Dont forget to type in your choices in the comment box below. The deadline is Dec 21.