The Twenty-Sixth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting
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- Best of NQ 2013 Home
- The Ku Klux Con Job Award for Smearing Conservatives with Phony Racism Charges
- Let Us Fluff Your Pillow Award for Obsequious Obama Interviews
- The Move Along, Nothing to See Here Award for Denying Obama’s Scandals
- MSNBC = Mean-Spirited, Nasty, Belligerent Chris Award
- The Gunning for the Second Amendment Award
- The Obamagasm Award
- Damn Those Conservatives Award
- The Tea Party Terrorists Award
- The Pantsuit Patrol Award for Boosting Hillary Clinton
- The Kamikaze Award for Disparaging Conservatives During the Shutdown
- Let Them Eat Dog Food Award for Freaking Out Over the Sequester’s Puny Cuts
- The Obama’s Orderlies Award for Championing ObamaCare
- The Twisted Tweets Award
- The Audacity of Dopes Award for the Wackiest Analysis of the Year
- The Barbra Streisand Political IQ Award for Celebrity Vapidity
- Quote of the Year
- 2013 NQ Judges
Media Coverage
In addition to discussions on numerous radio talk shows where hosts cited quotes or interviewed MRC representatives, the Best of NQ Awards issue has been highlighted by these outlets:
Print:
- Denver Post, by Mike Rosen on December 19: “Liberal media lowlights of the year.”
- Washington Times’ “Inside the Beltway” column by Jennifer Harper on December 19: “The Year’s Most Questionable Quotes.”
- World magazine, by Marvin Olasky, online December 20 and in January 11 magazine: “The year in propaganda”
- Oklahoma City’s The City Sentinel, by Patrick McGuigan on December 20: “Notable Quotables -- The Best of the Worst in 2013”
Video:
- NewsmaxTV, December 18 Steve Malzberg Show interview with the MRC’s Rich Noyes.
- FoxNews.com, December 23 Bias Bash by Cal Thomas: “2013’s most outrageous media reports”
- FNC’s Hannity, January 2, 2014: “Media Mash” segment with MRC President Brent Bozell on top runner-up and winning “Quote of the Year” quotes.
Online:
- Center for Individual Freedom’s “Freedom Line Blog,” by Quin Hillyer on December 9: “What’s Left in the Media? (Almost Everything)”
- Creators syndicate column by MRC President Brent Bozell on December 17: “Safeguarding Obama Throughout 2013.”
- WashingtonExaminer.com, by Paul Bedard on December 18: “Media hate quote of the year: MSNBC’s Martin Bashir slam on Sarah Palin”
- Watchdog.org, by Patrick McGuigan on December 18: “Notable quotables: The best of the worst in 2013"
- Newsmax.com on December 18: “MSNBC's Bashir Wins ‘Worst Reporting’ Award for Palin Rant”
- WashingtonTimes.com’s “Water Cooler” blog by Jennifer Harper on December 18: “The most questionable quotes of the year: Yes, MSNBC wins.”
Radio
- (Interviews as of 12/29) Portland, Oregon-based Lars Larson on his national show, Jan Mickelson on WHO in Des Moines, Bob Dutko on WMUZ in Detroit, Mark Larson on KCBQ in San Diego and Tron Simpson on KCMN in Colorado Springs, Mike Rosen on KOA in Denver and Greg Garrison on WIBC in Indianapolis.
The Move Along, Nothing to See Here Award
for Denying Obama’s Scandals
Winner
Ruth Marcus / David Gergen (55 points)
Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus: “This has been really — and I know people are going to call about Benghazi and other things, but this has been really a very — and the IRS — this has been a really relatively scandal-free administration, first term and second term.”...
CNN’s David Gergen: “I particularly agree that — with Ruth that this has been a scandal-free administration by and large, and we should appreciate that.”
CNN’s David Gergen: “I particularly agree that — with Ruth that this has been a scandal-free administration by and large, and we should appreciate that.”
— During a discussion on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show, November 4. [MP3 Audio]
Runners-Up
Martin Bashir (52 points)
“The IRS is being used in exactly the same way as they tried to use the President’s birth certificate...Despite the complete lack of any evidence linking the President to the targeting of Tea Party groups, Republicans are using it as their latest weapon in the war against the black man in the White House....This afternoon, we welcome the latest phrase in the lexicon of Republican attacks on this President — the IRS. Three letters that sound so innocent, but we know what you mean.”
— MSNBC host Martin Bashir, June 5. [MP3 Audio]
Lawrence O’Donnell (42 points)
“I do not believe what the IRS was reported to have been doing is an outrage. I believe that the IRS agents in this case did nothing wrong. Let me say it again. You won’t hear it anywhere else. The IRS agents did nothing wrong. They were simply trying to enforce the law as the IRS has understood it since 1959.”
— Host Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC’s The Last Word, May 15. [MP3 Audio]
Morning Joe (28 points)
Time’s Joe Klein: “The talking points were accurate.”
MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle: “For two weeks?”
Klein: “They were absolutely accurate.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Were they really?”
Klein: “They were. It was a spontaneous demonstration by extremists....”
New York’s Jon Heilemann: “The administration was asked for nine days, ‘Was it an act of terror?’ The administration, Jay Carney, the President, declined to call it an act of terror.”
Klein: “He called it an act of terror the day after.”
Heilemann: “He really did not.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Oh, my God, Joe. Seriously?”
MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle: “For two weeks?”
Klein: “They were absolutely accurate.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Were they really?”
Klein: “They were. It was a spontaneous demonstration by extremists....”
New York’s Jon Heilemann: “The administration was asked for nine days, ‘Was it an act of terror?’ The administration, Jay Carney, the President, declined to call it an act of terror.”
Klein: “He called it an act of terror the day after.”
Heilemann: “He really did not.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Oh, my God, Joe. Seriously?”
— MSNBC’s Morning Joe, November 26, 2012 discussion of Benghazi. [MP3 Audio]