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2. Monday's New York Post Features Quotes, Denver Paper Did Friday
3. List of the 53 Judges Who Selected the Winning Quotes
4. 'Top Ten Lowlights of The New York Times in 2007'
The second and third runners-up quotes in the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2007: The Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." As noted in previous CyberAlerts, the awards issue was posted, with videos, on Monday, December 17, but following tradition, Thursday, Friday and today -- the last weekdays of the year -- CyberAlert runs the winning quotes followed on succeeding days by the runners-up. Thursday's CyberAlert listed the winning quotes, Friday's the first runners-up.
The Media Research Center's annual awards issue provides a compilation of the most outrageous and/or humorous news media quotes from 2007 (December 2006 through November 2007). To determine this year's winners, a panel of 53 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers, and media observers each selected their choices for the first, second and third best quote from a slate of five to eight quotes in each category. First place selections were awarded three points, second place choices two points, with one point for the third place selections. Point totals are listed in the brackets at the end of the attribution for each quote. Each judge was also asked to choose a " A list of the judges, who were generous with their time, appears in item #3 below. The MRC's Michelle Humphrey, Kristine Lawrence and Melissa Lopez distributed and counted the ballots, then produced the numerous audio and video clips that accompany the Web-posted version. Brent Baker and Rich Noyes assembled this issue and Eric Pairel posted the entire package, with dozens of Flash videos, on the MRC's Web site: www.mrc.org [1] MS Word and Corel WordPerfect files of the entire text of the issue are also available at the above link. For an Adobe Acrobat PDF that matches the eight-page hard copy version: www.mrc.org [2] Now, the second and third runners-up quotes in the 17 award categories: Dynamic Duo Award for Idolizing Bill and Hillary [second and third runners-up] "It's her resilience and capacity to survive and thrive against all comers that partly fuels the haters' fury....Installed in Washington, Hillary morphed into a comic-book villain for her detractors -- a man-eating feminist, they claimed, who allegedly threw lamps at her husband, communed psychically with Eleanor Roosevelt and lit a White House Christmas tree adorned with sex toys. The narrative of depravity -- a tissue of inventions by conservatives -- was often hard to follow....The anti-Hillary industry has never managed to bring down Hillary herself -- in fact, the more they have attacked, the higher she has risen." -- Newsweek's Jonathan Darman and Mark Hosenball in "The New War on Hillary," June 18 issue. [42 points] "There was this great story in The Atlantic this month about your philanthropy, the CGI [Clinton Global Initiative] and your other activities at the foundation. And the author says you're basically re-inventing philanthropy, or trying to re-invent philanthropy....He writes that, 'as a result of this, history may remember Bill Clinton as the philanthropist who happened to be President.' You okay with that?" -- ABC's George Stephanopoulos to his former boss, ex-President Bill Clinton, on This Week, September 30. [36]
"Governor Romney, Daniel Duchovnik [ph] from Walnut Creek, California wants to know, '€˜What do you dislike most about America?'" -- Online question selected by The Politico's Jim VandeHei to pose to the Republican presidential candidates at their May 3 MSNBC debate. [55]
-- Newsweek's Jonathan Darman reporting on Democratic candidate John Edwards's anti-poverty push, July 30 issue. [55]
"This is going to result in racial profiling. If, in her America, in Michelle's America, when you look, 'Is that Hispanic guy an illegal or is he legal?' It reminds me so much of when they used to pull down the pants of Jews to see if they were circumcised or not. It is, it is so, so pathetic. It's so un-American....I want you to know, ladies and gentlemen, that what they are doing is using the police force of the United States to break up families and sow horror and pain." -- Geraldo Rivera rejecting columnist Michelle Malkin's argument that citizens should report illegal immigrants to the authorities, FNC's The O'Reilly Factor, June 8. [46]
-- MSNBC reporter David Shuster on Hardball, August 29. [28]
"She's [Hillary Clinton] a moral conservative. Which is to say that she also gets behind, you know, things like values issues. She's endorsed a plan to lower abortion rates that actually just passed through the House and Senate conference committee this week." -- Time's Amy Sullivan on MSNBC's Tucker, Nov. 8. [57]
-- Beginning of New York Times reporter Leslie Wayne's July 22 profile of Edwards. [33]
"Joe Scarborough did a whole week of panel discussions on whether he [President Bush] was an idiot....People who were defending him were saying, 'Well, he's just inarticulate.' But inarticulate doesn't explain foreign policy. I mean, it's not that complicated. The man is a rube. He is a dolt. He is a yokel on the world stage. He is a Gilligan who cannot find his ass with two hands. He is a vain half-wit who interrupts one incoherent sentence with another incoherent sentence. And I hope I'm not piling on, Jay." -- HBO's Bill Maher on NBC's Tonight Show, Feb. 20. [48]
-- Keith Olbermann on Bush commuting Lewis Libby's prison sentence, MSNBC's Countdown, July 2. [44]
"[Democratic presidential candidate Chris] Dodd also said this: 'If we become preoccupied with an impeachment process, I think we could turn off an awful lot of people who might otherwise be willing to support Democrats and be willing to change the direction of the country in the fall of 2008,' unquote. So, Senator Dodd is putting the election prospects of the Democratic Party next year ahead of whether or not President Bush might be guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors....Congress's job is oversight of the executive branch -- unless, of course, that oversight interferes with getting elected." -- CNN's Jack Cafferty, The Situation Room, Aug. 21. [40]
"Each and every candidate [in] each and every campaign is forced to respond to this litmus test of 'No New Taxes.' How are we gonna get taxes passed when you can't get anything done in the Congress?...Government's gotta get bigger to help governors in various states." -- Fill-in host Mike Barnicle leading a panel discussion on MSNBC's Hardball, August 2. [48]
Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM): "It's going to be a collaborative effort. No, you don't have to do it with taxes...." Stephanopoulos: "But aren't higher energy taxes the best way to get people to conserve?" -- ABC's This Week, January 21. [43]
"You know, Bob, you'd still be holding your breath and kicking your feet if what had happened to Al Gore in Florida had happened to you. He rose above a great injustice....He became a prophet on an issue that is crucially important to the world." -- Ex-Time reporter Margaret Carlson to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bob Novak on Bloomberg TV's Political Capital, October 13. [45]
Former Vice President Al Gore: "Well, I appreciate the impulse behind the question. I am not planning to run...." Lauer: "But as someone who feels as passionately about the subject as you do, and your documentary is evidence of that, why pass up the opportunity to have that world stage again?" -- Exchange on NBC's Today, December 6, 2006. [43]
"[High ratings for Fox's American Idol] cannot solely be explained by technological advances or a regression in human nature. It cannot be a coincidence that television voting rights arose so soon after the 2000 election left slightly more than half the voting population feeling cheated. Those who didn't go to the polls and fear that their abstention inadvertently made possible the invasion of Iraq may feel even worse. Idol could be a displacement ritual: a psychological release that allows people to vote -- and even vote often -- in a contest that has no dangerous or even lasting consequences." -- New York Times TV reporter Alessandra Stanley in an April 4 article. [46]
Ex-CBS anchor Dan Rather: "No." King: "You think the report was correct?" Rather: "Yes. And I think most people know by now that it was correct." -- Exchange on
Co-host Matt Lauer: "The book is called The World Without Us, and it asks the question what would happen to planet Earth if human beings were to suddenly disappear....And really it's all about trying to figure out how long it would take nature to reclaim what we've created." Co-host Meredith Vieira: "The mess." Lauer: "How long it would take nature to fix the mess we've made?...Would the Earth miss us at all? How long would it take for it to fix the problems we created?" -- NBC's Today, September 4. [44]
"Historian Douglas Brinkley says he [Jimmy Carter] used the White House as a stepping stone for greater things. He intervened in civil wars around the globe, monitored elections, and confronted dictators. And Carter's work for Habitat for Humanity shows that even for someone who was once the most powerful man on Earth, there's no higher calling than helping your neighbor. To cap it all, in 2002 he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course he's been outspoken, criticizing President Bush and equating some Israeli policies with apartheid, and critics have accused him of acting decidedly unpresidential. Agree with him or not, you have to respect him for sticking to his principles. At 82, Jimmy Carter is having an impact still, perhaps even more than when he was President." -- CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her June 19 "Katie Couric's Notebook," a video posting to her "Couric & Co." blog at CBSNews.com. [56]
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio: "I try to live a 'green lifestyle,' quote/unquote. I mean, I've, I've done the things that I can do in my house to make it, my house green, energy efficient appliances. I drive a hybrid car. I have solar panels." Chen: "Where did this passion come from?"... Co-anchor Harry Smith: "He's such a smart guy." Chen: "He is a smart guy and he's such a great spokesperson to have for this very important cause." -- CBS's Early Show promoting The 11th Hour, DiCaprio's apocalyptic movie about global warming, August 13. [38]
"Our third story in the Countdown, from the mindbending idea that four guys dressed as pizza delivery men were going to outgun all the soldiers at Fort Dix, to the not-too-thought-out plan to blow up JFK Airport by lighting a match 40 miles away....The so-called plot happens to be revealed the day before the second Democratic presidential debate and as the scandal continues to unfold over the firings of U.S. attorneys and their replacements by political hacks. The so-called plot is announced by the Bush-appointed U.S. attorney for Brooklyn, New York, and by the police chief of New York City, the father of a correspondent for Fox News Channel." -- MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on his Countdown program June 4, outlining his claimed "Nexus of Politics and Terror," arguing the Bush administration manipulates news about terror plots for political advantage. [35]
"Also in Washington today, a lot of excitement on Capitol Hill. A movie star showed up to testify before Congress -- a movie star named Al Gore." -- Katie Couric on the March 21 CBS Evening News. [48]
-- Katie Couric introducing a story about a doctor who cares for poor patients, March 12 CBS Evening News. [37]
"Let's face it: If the mothers ruled the world, there would be no Goddamned wars in the first place." -- Actress Sally Field at the Emmy awards, September 16. [43]
-- ABC's Joy Behar on The View, February 28. [40]
"Why don't you just brush off these comments by Limbaugh, like an annoying gnat, instead of legitimizing them and bringing more attention to them?" -- Co-host Meredith Vieira to former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, who is pushing to get Limbaugh removed from Armed Forces Radio, on NBC's Today, October 3. [54]
Air America host Sam Seder: "...Corporations have said we're not going to tolerate this any more, and the next time Limbaugh slips up, which I think is inevitable, I think you're going to see this sort of same type of reaction." Olbermann: "It's the best thing I've heard in a couple of days....From your lips to God's ears!" -- MSNBC's Countdown, April 12. [49]
"If the watchdog doesn't bark, how do you know there's a burglar in the basement? And the press is supposed to be a watchdog. I'll put it another way: if you think that the fire department in your neighborhood is in collusion with the arsonist, you want to know about it. And the fact of the matter is, in the build-up to the [Iraq] war the watchdog didn't bark and the fire department -- in this case the press -- was in cahoots with the arsonist." -- Bill Moyers promoting his anti-Bush special Buying the War, on PBS's Tavis Smiley, April 23. [69]
-- Longtime Los Angeles Times political reporter Ron Brownstein in a March 16 column. [42]
-- MSNBC Countdown anchor Keith Olbermann addressing President Bush in a "Special Comment," September 4.
-- Co-host Diane Sawyer joking on ABC's Good Morning America July 12, following a report on how some people try to avoid serving on a jury.
Monday's New York Post devotes the entire daily editorial space to highlighting selected quotes from the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2007: The Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." Friday's Rocky Mountain News in Denver carried a column by Mike Rosen on his favorite quotes from the awards issue and, late in the week before Christmas, Human Events published and posted excerpts as did The Jewish Press. For the December 31 New York Post editorial, "HOIST BY THEIR OWN PETARD," pick up a copy of the paper today, or go to: www.nypost.com [3] For the December 28 column by Mike Rosen, one of our judges, "Liberal lowlights of 2007," go to: www.rockymountainnews.com [4] For the collection posted December 19 by Human Events: www.humanevents.com [5] And for the quotes Jewish Press Senior Editor Jason Maoz chose to highlight in an article posted December 19: www.jewishpress.com [6]
In recognition of their time and effort, a listing of the names and affiliations of the judges for the "Best Notable Quotables of 2007: The Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting."
As explained in item #1 above, the panel of 53 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers and media observers received a ballot and each selected their choices for the first, second and third best quote from a slate of five to eight quotes in each category. - Lee Anderson, Associate Publisher and Editor, Chattanooga Times Free Press - Chuck Asay, editorial cartoonist via the Creators Syndicate - Brent H. Baker, MRC's Vice President for Research and Publications; Editor of CyberAlert and Editor the NewsBusters blog - Mark Belling, radio talk show host, WISN-AM in Milwaukee - Neal Boortz, nationally syndicated radio talk show host - L. Brent Bozell III, President of the Media Research Center and author of Whitewash: What the Media Won't Tell You About Hillary Clinton, But Conservatives Will - Priscilla Buckley, Contributing Editor for National Review - Bill Cotterell, political editor at the Tallahassee Democrat - Blanquita Cullum, Podjockey.com - Bill Cunningham, nationally syndicated radio talk show host from WLW in Cincinnati - Midge Decter, author, member of the Heritage Foundation's Board of Trustees - Bob Dutko, radio talk show host, WMUZ-FM in Detroit - Jim Eason, retired radio talk show host - Don Feder, former Boston Herald columnist; author, media consultant at Don Feder & Associates - Eric Fettmann, Associate Editorial Page Editor, New York Post - Ed Flynn, radio talk host on WATR in Waterbury, CT - Michael Graham, radio talk show host on WTKK in Boston and Boston Herald columnist - Tim Graham, Director of Media Analysis, Media Research Center; Senior Editor of the NewsBusters blog - Steven Greenhut, senior editorial writer and columnist, Orange County Register - Kirk Healy, Executive Producer, WDBO Radio in Orlando -Quin Hillyer, Senior Editor, The American Spectator - Fred Honsberger, radio talk show host, Newsradio 1020 KDKA in Pittsburgh - Jeff Jacoby, columnist for the Boston Globe - Marie Kaigler, mass media and developmental consultant, Detroit - Cliff Kincaid, Editor, Accuracy in Media - Mark Larson, Program Director and talk show host on San Diego 1700 AM - Mark Levin, nationally syndicated radio talk show host - Jason Lewis, talk show host, 100.3 KTLK-FM in Minneapolis - Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor of National Review Online - Brian Maloney, radio analyst, creator of The RadioEqualizer blog - Steve Malzberg, nationally syndicated talk show host from WOR in New York City - Patrick McGuigan, Contributing Editor, The City Sentinel in Oklahoma City - Colin McNickle, Editorial Page Editor, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Joe McQuaid, Publisher, New Hampshire Union Leader - Jan Mickelson, talk show host on WHO in Des Moines - Paul Mirengoff, co-author of PowerLine blog - Robert D. Novak, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times; author of The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington - Rich Noyes, Director of Research, Media Research Center; Senior Editor of the NewsBusters blog - Henry Payne, editorial cartoonist, The Detroit News - Wladyslaw Pleszczynski, Editorial Director, The American Spectator - Michael Reagan, nationally syndicated radio talk show host - Chris Reed, editorial writer, San Diego Union-Tribune - Mike Rosen, radio talk show host, KOA in Denver; columnist for the Rocky Mountain News - William A. Rusher, Distinguished Fellow, Claremont Institute; syndicated columnist - Matthew Sheffield, Executive Editor of NewsBusters, the MRC's blog - James Taranto, Editor of OpinionJournal.com - Philip Terzian, Literary Editor for The Weekly Standard - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist; panelist on FNC's Fox News Watch - Chris Warden, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Troy University - Clay Waters, Editor of the MRC's TimesWatch.org - Walter E. Williams, economics professor, George Mason University - Thomas S. Winter, Editor-in-Chief of Human Events - Martha Zoller, radio talk show host for WDUN in Gainseville, GA For links to Web pages for the judges: www.mrc.org [7]
The "Top Ten Lowlights of The New York Times in 2007," as posted last week on the MRC's TimesWatch site. TimesWatch Editor Clay Waters explained: "As usual, the year brought a cornucopia of biased behavior by the nation's paper of record, from sliming innocent Duke lacrosse players to defending illegal immigration to yet another liberal rant from a high-level Times executive (this year it was Executive Editor Bill Keller who did the honors). TimesWatch has whittled down the absolute worst from another liberally slanted year from the New York Times, and here are the results, in ascending order of gruesomeness:" For the list, with full re-caps of the biased reporting: www.timeswatch.org [8] The ten topics: 10. Bill Keller Unleashed in London -- "War Going Very Badly in Iraq" 9. The Haditha "Massacre" 8. Doubting the Fort Dix Six Terror Plot 7. France's "Fearsome" Nicolas Sarkozy 6. Gee, Why Is Dick Cheney So Secretive? 5. Reporter Chastised for Saying "Surge" Worth A Shot 4. Blaming the Victims in the Duke "Rape" Hoax 3. Loving the (Illegal) Alien 2. Deep Discount for MoveOn.org's "Petraeus-Betray Us" Ad 1. Grossly Biased Giuliani Coverage -- Brent Baker
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