DisHonors Awards Held Thursday; Hume Honored with Buckley Award --3/20/2009

1. DisHonors Awards Held Thursday; Hume Honored with Buckley Award
Mark Levin, Monica Crowley, Ken Cribb, "Joe the Plumber," Andrew Breitbart, Ed Meese and a performance by the Capitol Steps highlighted the MRC's "2009 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters" presented on Thursday night, March 19, before an audience of more than 800 in the Independence Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C. Following the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos in four categories (see text of quotes in #2 below with a link to the video clips), a look at some "funny clips" from 2008 and the audience picking Bill Maher for the "Quote of the Year," MRC President Brent Bozell honored Brit Hume with the MRC's third annual "William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence." Hume recounted a humorous anecdote about Buckley before predicting the decline of newspapers could lead to a return to an overtly partisan press and thus plenty of work for the MRC.

2. Text of the 14 Nominated Videos Played for the Audience
A listing of the finalist quotes, as selected by the panel of ten judges, played in each of four award categories: "The Media Messiah Award" went to MSNBC's Chris Matthews for boasting Obama gave him a "thrill going up my leg." "The Obamagasm Award" was won by ABC's Bill Weir for ruminating over how "even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity" at Obama's inauguration. Bill Maher's looney conspiracy theorizing about Sarah Palin's baby won the "Half-Baked Alaska Award for Pummeling Palin" and the "Dan Rather Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis" was earned by Ted Turner for warning that if global warming is not addressed that in 30 or 40 years "most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals."

3. The Ten 'DisHonors Awards' Judges Who Evaluated the Quotes
To select the winners of the MRC's "2009 Dishonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting," a distinguished panel of ten leading observers of the liberal media in action generously gave of their time to serve as our judges. They reviewed three to five quotes in each of four award categories.

4. Audience Awards the 'Quote of the Year' to Bill Maher
Bill Maher earned the "Quote of the Year" distinction as voted by the audience. After attendees saw all the videos in the four categories, MRC President Brent Bozell invited the presenters and acceptors back on stage (Monica Crowley, Mark Levin, Andrew Breitbart, Joe Wurzelbacher and Ed Meese) to assess audience reaction to each of the winning quotes from Chris Matthews, Bill Weir, Bill Maher and Ted Turner. The videos were re-played and then, as a picture of each nominee was displayed, audience members were asked by Bozell to hoot, cheer and applaud to express their opinion on which quote deserved the Quote of the Year designation as the worst bias of 2008. It was a close call between two of the quotes, and so the judges asked for a run-off between Chris Matthews' "thrill going up my leg" and Bill Maher's looney conspiracy theorizing about how Sarah Palin's baby was really born to daughter Bristol. Joe Wurzelbacher then stepped forward to announce Bill Maher as the winner.

Early readers: MRC President Brent Bozell is scheduled to discuss the "DisHonors Awards" media quotes Friday morning at about 6:15 AM EDT (5:15 AM CDT, 4:15 AM MDT, 3:15 AM PDT) on FNC's Fox & Friends.

DisHonors Awards Held Thursday; Hume
Honored with Buckley Award

Mark Levin, Monica Crowley, Ken Cribb, "Joe the Plumber," Andrew Breitbart, Ed Meese and a performance by the Capitol Steps highlighted the MRC's "2009 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters" presented on Thursday night, March 19, before an audience of more than 800 in the Independence Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C.

Following the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos in four categories (see text of quotes in #2 below with a link to the video clips), a look at some "funny clips" from 2008 and the audience picking Bill Maher for the "Quote of the Year," MRC President Brent Bozell honored Brit Hume with the MRC's third annual "William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence." Hume recounted a humorous anecdote about Buckley before predicting the decline of newspapers could lead to a return to an overtly partisan press and thus plenty of work for the MRC.

For video and audio of the Buckley award presentation and acceptance: www.mrc.org

To watch the funny clips: www.mrc.org

DisHonors Awards winners were selected by a distinguished panel of ten leading media observers, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tony Blankley, Larry Kudlow, Cal Thomas, Walter E. Williams and Kate O'Beirne. (See #3 below for a list of judges.)

Bozell served as Master of Ceremonies. Monica Crowley, a nationally-syndicated talk radio host and panelist on the McLaughlin Group, presented the first two awards as well as clips of interviewers fawning over Barack Obama; followed by Intercollegiate Studies Institute President Ken Cribb who set up the funny clips. National talk show host and author Mark Levin handled the third and fourth awards.

In place of the journalist who won each award, a conservative accepted it in jest. Those standing in for the winners: Andrew Breitbart, Joe Wurzelbacher, a medley of parody songs by the Capitol Steps and Ed Meese.

The evening began with welcoming remarks from Bozell, an invocation by Father John De Celles and the Pledge of Allegiance led by COL. Jay Stobbs USA Ret.

(To render and post the video, members of the MRC's News Analysis Division (NAD) and IT department stayed up overnight. From NAD: Michelle Humphrey, Kristine Lawrence and Karen Hanna. From IT: Eric Pairel and Brad Ash.)

Main page for video of the event: www.mrc.org

Text of the 14 Nominated Videos Played
for the Audience

A listing of the finalist quotes, as selected by the panel of ten judges, played in each of four award categories: "The Media Messiah Awards," "The Obamagasm Award, "The Half-Baked Alaska Award for Pummeling Palin" and the "Dan Rather Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis."

Video clips of all the nominated video clips, as well as of the entire evening, are online in click-and-play Flash format and as downloadable Windows Media files, as well as with MP3 audio clips, at: www.mrc.org

"The Media Messiah Award" went to MSNBC's Chris Matthews for boasting Obama gave him a "thrill going up my leg." "The Obamagasm Award" was won by ABC's Bill Weir for ruminating over how "even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity" at Obama's inauguration. Bill Maher's looney conspiracy theorizing about Sarah Palin's baby won the "Half-Baked Alaska Award for Pummeling Palin" and the "Dan Rather Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis" was earned by Ted Turner for warning that if global warming is not addressed that in 30 or 40 years "most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals."

Below are the top runners-up in each award category as picked by the judges, followed by the winner and the name of the conservative who accepted the award in jest:

+ Media Messiah Award

presented by Monica Crowley

Runners-up:

# "In many ways, it was less a speech than a symphony. It moved quickly, it had high tempo, at times inspiring, then it became more intimate, slower, all along sort of interweaving a main theme about America's promise, echoes of Lincoln, of King, even of Reagan and of Kennedy....It was a masterpiece." -- CNN's David Gergen during live coverage following Obama's convention speech, August 28, 2008.

# Keith Olbermann: "For 42 minutes, not a sour note and spellbinding throughout in a way usually reserved for the creations of fiction. An extraordinary political statement. Almost a fully realized, tough, crisp, insistent speech in tone and in the sense of cutting through the clutter....I'd love to find something to criticize about it. You got anything?" Chris Matthews: "No. You know, I've been criticized for saying he inspires me, and to hell with my critics!...You know, in the Bible they talk about Jesus serving the good wine last, I think the Democrats did the same." -- MSNBC live coverage of Obama's Democratic convention speech, August 28, 2008.

And the winner is:

# Co-anchor Chris Matthews: "I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My -- I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often." Co-anchor Keith Olbermann: "Steady." Matthews: "No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment." -- Exchange during MSNBC's coverage of the Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. primaries, February 12, 2008.

Accepting for Chris Matthews: Andrew Breitbart

For video of the Media Messiah nominees, award presentation and acceptance: www.mrc.org

+ The Obamagasm Award

presented by Monica Crowley

Runners-up:

# "You've seen those videotapes of Walter Cronkite the night that man landed on the moon for the first time, when Neil Armstrong stepped out and he could just barely get out monosyllables. Politically, that's what this is. This is man on the moon." -- MSNBC's Keith Olbermann during live election night coverage, November 4, 2008.

# "Today, the audacity of hope had its rendezvous with destiny. No mere endorsement this, more like a political anointment from the Kennedys, merging ideals from two different eras....Obama is now an adopted son of Camelot. His candidacy blessed not just by the Lion of the Senate, patriarch of the clan, but by JFK's daughter." -- ABC's David Wright on Nightline, January 28, 2008.

And the winner is:

# "We know that wind can make a cold day feel colder, but can national pride make a freezing day feel warmer? It seems to be the case because regardless of the final crowd number estimates, never have so many people shivered so long with such joy. From above, even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity." -- ABC's Bill Weir on World News, January 20, 2009.

Accepting for Bill Weir: Joe Wurzelbacher

For video of the Obamagasm nominees, award presentation and acceptance: www.mrc.org

+ Half-Baked Alaska Award for Pummeling Palin:

presented by Mark Levin

Runners-up:

# "You know, the one thing that I don't think anybody's said yet is that she's very mean to animals, this woman. Why does she have it in for these poor polar bear and the caribou and she aerial kills wolves? That's a very mean thing to do. I think that that's an important point." -- ABC The View co-host Joy Behar explaining her opposition to Palin, CNN's Larry King Live, September 9, 2008.

# "He's [McCain has] done it [picked Sarah Palin] at great cost, because the whole Republican convention...was going to be the slogan, 'He's not ready to lead,' meaning Barack Obama. Well, Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams. I mean, it's just, it's no contest." -- Newsweek's Howard Fineman on MSNBC's Countdown, August 29, 2008.

# "The fact of the matter is, the comparison between her [Sarah Palin] and Hillary Clinton is the comparison between an igloo and the Empire State Building!" -- Host Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball, October 14, 2008.

And the winner is:

# "I'm not that convinced that that's her baby....The daughter -- who we know is fertile because she's knocked up again, or maybe for the first time...she did like take a five-month leave from high school because she had [uses fingers to indicate quote marks] 'mononucleosis' right around the time the baby was being born. And the mother, the so-called, you know, okay, maybe it is the mother, but, you know, she was back to work three days later. You don't smell something?...It's not like they're not willing to lie about everything else." -- HBO's Bill Maher on Real Time, September 5, 2008 promoting the left-wing conspiracy theory that Sarah Palin's infant son is actually her daughter Bristol's baby.

Accepting for Bill Maher: Capitol Steps

For video of the Pummeling Palin nominees, award presentation and acceptance: www.mrc.org

+ Dan Rather Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis

presented by Mark Levin

Runners-up:

# "Many Americans drive private cars not much smaller than this truck, and the risk is that they use their tax rebate simply to buy fuel, boosting the profits of the oil companies but doing little or nothing for the wider American economy." -- BBC correspondent Justin Webb standing next to an 18-wheel big rig in a story on BBC World, April 30, 2008.

# "And now to our series, Global Warming: Global Warning. Could global warming one day force us into space to live?" -- ABC's Sam Champion teasing an upcoming segment on Good Morning America, February 8, 2008.

# "What do you think the bigger obstacle is for you in becoming president, the Clinton campaign machine or America's inherent racism?" -- ABC's Chris Cuomo to Barack Obama in a December 20, 2007 interview on Good Morning America.

And the winner is:
"Not doing it [fighting global warming] will be catastrophic. We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but in 30 or 40 years, and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals. Civilization will have broken down." -- CNN founder Ted Turner on PBS's Charlie Rose, April 1, 2008.

Accepting for Ted Turner: Ed Meese

For video of the Stupidest Analysis nominees, award presentation and acceptance: www.mrc.org

The Ten 'DisHonors Awards' Judges Who
Evaluated the Quotes

To select the winners of the MRC's "2009 Dishonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting," a distinguished panel of ten leading observers of the liberal media in action generously gave of their time to serve as our judges. They reviewed three to five quotes in each of four award categories. For each set of quotes the judges picked first and second place choices. First place selections earned two points, second choices were allocated one point. The MRC's Michelle Humphrey and Kristine Lawrence tabulated the ballots.

- Tony Blankley, Washington Times syndicated columnist; Executive vice president for global affairs, Edelman Public Relations

- Brent Bozell, Founder & President, Media Research Center

- Sean Hannity, Host of FNC's Hannity; nationally syndicated radio talk show host

- Larry Kudlow, anchor of CNBC's The Kudlow Report

- Mark Levin, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, author and President of the Landmark Legal Foundation

- Rush Limbaugh, host of The Rush Limbaugh Show

- Kate O'Beirne, President, National Review Institute

- Cal Thomas, syndicated and USA Today columnist; Fox News contributor

- Walter E. Williams, Professor of economics, George Mason University and a syndicated columnist

- Thomas S. Winter, Editor-in-Chief of Human Events

The online posting with links to Web pages for the judges: www.mrc.org

Audience Awards the 'Quote of the Year'
to Bill Maher

Bill Maher earned the "Quote of the Year" distinction as voted by the audience. After attendees saw all the videos in the four categories, MRC President Brent Bozell invited the presenters and acceptors back on stage (Monica Crowley, Mark Levin, Andrew Breitbart, Joe Wurzelbacher and Ed Meese) to assess audience reaction to each of the winning quotes from Chris Matthews, Bill Weir, Bill Maher and Ted Turner.

The videos were re-played and then, as a picture of each nominee was displayed, audience members were asked by Bozell to hoot, cheer and applaud to express their opinion on which quote deserved the Quote of the Year designation as the worst bias of 2008. It was a close call between two of the quotes, and so the judges asked for a run-off between Chris Matthews' "thrill going up my leg" and Bill Maher's looney conspiracy theorizing about how Sarah Palin's baby was really born to daughter Bristol.

Joe Wurzelbacher then stepped forward to announce Bill Maher as the winner.

Maher's wacky quote:

"I'm not that convinced that that's her baby....The daughter '€" who we know is fertile because she's knocked up again, or maybe for the first time...she did like take a five-month leave from high school because she had [uses fingers to indicate quote marks] 'mononucleosis' right around the time the baby was being born. And the mother, the so-called, you know, okay, maybe it is the mother, but, you know, she was back to work three days later. You don't smell something?...It's not like they're not willing to lie about everything else." -- HBO's Bill Maher on Real Time, September 5, 2008 promoting the left-wing conspiracy theory that Sarah Palin's infant son is actually her daughter Bristol's baby.

To watch video of the selection based on audience participation: www.mrc.org

-- Brent Baker