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2. Text of the 15 Nominated Videos Played for the Audience
3. The Judges Who Selected the Winning Quotes
4. Audience Awards the "Quote of the Year" to Ted Turner
5. "Top Ten Things Overheard During George W. Bush's Trip to Cancun"
Following the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos in five categories (see links to videos below), a look at several unintentionally humorous clips from network newscasts and the audience picking the Quote of the Year, the audience watched a "Tribute to the American Military" video. It was preceded by a "Toast to the Fallen Comrade" and followed by remarks from Herman Cain, the former President of Godfather's Pizza and National Chairman of the MRC's Media and Business Institute. DisHonors Awards winners were selected by a distinguished panel of 17 leading media observers, including Rush Limbaugh, Steve Forbes, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Robert Novak and Mary Matalin, who served as judges (see list in item #3 below). Cal Thomas, a syndicated columnist and panelist on FNC's Fox Newswatch, served as Master of Ceremonies. Lawrence Kudlow, host of CNBC's Kudlow & Company and National Review Online's economics editor, was the first presenter of nominated video clips, followed by Washington Times Editorial Page Editor Tony Blankley and nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mark Levin. In place of the journalist who won each award, a conservative accepted it in jest. Those standing in for the winners: Major General Jack Singlaub (Retired), radio talk show host and conservative commentator Linda Chavez, Ron Robinson, President of the Young America's Foundation, Ken Cribb, President of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and a former Reagan administration official, and author Stan Evans, the founder of the National Journalism Center, who delivered an especially hilarious routine. The evening began with welcoming remarks from Cal Thomas, an invocation by Reverend Robert Sirico, President of the Acton Institute, and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Colonel Robert Rust (Retired).
To get the full flavor of the mocking atmosphere of the evening, you'll need to watch video of the event (it will not be carried by C-SPAN). The MRC's Michael Gibbons has already posted RealPlayer and Windows Media videos, as well as MP3 audio clips, of each nominated quote (see item #2 below), and through the day Friday, as the MRC's Michelle Humphrey and Karen Hanna render video of the event, he will be adding video segments of Cal Thomas introducing the presenters, the presentations of the awards, the remarks of those accepting them and the "Tribute to the American Military." So, as the hours pass, check back with this address to see what has been added since you last looked: www.mediaresearch.org
A listing of the three finalist quotes, as selected by the panel of 17 judges, played in each of five award categories: "Slam Uncle Sam Award," "Cindy Sheehan Media Hero Award," "Send Bush to Abu Ghraib Award," "Aaron Brown Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis" and the "I'm Not a Political Genius But I Play One on TV Award."
These 15 videos are online in RealPlayer and Windows Media formats, as well as with MP3 audio clips: www.mediaresearch.org
Presented by Larry Kudlow Runners-up:
# "I just want to say: Who are we? We are people who have always been for inspections of prisons, for some degree of human rights, and now we're defending neither....We have now violated everything that we stand for. It is the first time in my life I have been ashamed of my country." -- NPR's Nina Totenberg, commenting on a front-page Washington Post report that captured terrorists are being held at undisclosed sites, Inside Washington, November 4. And the winner is:
# Actress Jane Fonda: "From an historical point of view, they [the Vietnamese] were defending their country. If we had been invaded and an invading force came into this country and divided us in half at the Mississippi River and accused anyone from the west of the Mississippi River who crossed over to east side, either to fight against the invaders or to see their family, the enemy, you know, we would understand why people were fighting and why people from both sides of the Mississippi would be trying to get rid of the invaders, you know. But horrible things happened, horrible things happened in the process of us, of them fighting us because we were there and we shouldn't have been there [Vietnam]. So, you know, from that point of view, no, they weren't good guys. They did bad things, just like we did. But we should never have been there." Accepting for Chris Matthews....Major General Jack Singlaub (Retired)
Presented by Larry Kudlow Runners-up: # "I see her [Hillary Clinton] in '€" she's very consistent [in] what she's always believed. She's always had strong religious faith. She's been a strong Methodist. She does have conservative social values on many issues." -- U.S. News & World Report Editor at Large David Gergen, on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, February 9. # "As was the practice in all that he did, Dan was meticulously careful to be fair and balanced and accurate. When did we stop believing that this is indeed how we all perform our jobs, or try to? When did we allow those with questionable agendas to take the lead and convince people of something quite the opposite? It's shameful. But I digress." -- MSNBC President and former ABC and CNN news executive Rick Kaplan praising ex-CBS anchor Dan Rather on September 19 as the latter received a lifetime achievement award from the National Television Academy, a ceremony televised on C-SPAN on October 1.
# Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan: "We're not going to cure terrorism and spread peace and good will in the Middle East by killing innocent people or -- I'm not even saying our bullets and bombs are killing them. The occupation '€" they don't have food, they don't have clean water, they don't have electricity. They don't have medicine, they don't have doctors. We need to get our military presence out of there, and that's what's gonna start building good will....I see Iraq as the base for spreading imperialism...." Accepting for Chris Matthews....Linda Chavez
Presented by Tony Blankley # "For many of this country's citizens, the mantra has been, as we were taught in social studies it should always be, whether or not I voted for this President, he is still my President. I suspect anybody who had to give him that benefit of the doubt stopped doing so last week. I suspect, also, a lot of his supporters, looking ahead to '08, are wondering how they can distance themselves from the two words which will define his government, our government: New Orleans. For him, it is a shame, in all senses of the word. A few changes of pronouns in there and he might not have looked so much like a 21st century Marie Antoinette." -- MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, September 5 Countdown. # "After meeting with Louisiana officials last week, Reverend Jesse Jackson said, quote, 'Many black people feel that their race, their property conditions and their voting patterns have been a factor in the response.' He continued, quote, 'I'm not saying that myself.' Then I'll say it: If the majority of the hardest hit victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans were white people, they would not have gone for days without food and water, forcing many to steal for mere survival. Their bodies would not have been left to float in putrid water. They would have been rescued and relocated a hell of a lot faster than this, period....The President has put himself at risk by visiting the troops in Iraq, but didn't venture anywhere near the Superdome or the convention center, where thousands of victims, mostly black and poor, needed to see that he gave a damn." -- Contributor Nancy Giles on CBS's Sunday Morning, September 4. And the winner is:
# CNN's Jack Cafferty: "What should Karl Rove do if he is indicted?...He might want to, he might want to get measured for one of those extra large orange jump suits, Wolf, because looking at old Karl, I'm not sure that he'd, they'd be able to zip him into the regular size one." Accepting for Jack Cafferty....Ron Robinson
Presented by Tony Blankley Runners-up: # "Do I need to be concerned that I'm going to go live with a church family, are they going to proselytize me, are they going to say, 'You better come to church with me or else, I'm, you know, you're not going to get your breakfast this morning'?" -- Co-host Harry Smith asking author/pastor Rick Warren about church families taking in those displaced by Hurricane Katrina, on CBS's Early Show, September 6.
# Reporter Brian Ross: "Mary Mapes was the woman behind the scenes, the producer who researched, wrote and put together Dan Rather's 60 Minutes report on President Bush's National Guard service, a report which Rather and CBS would later apologize for airing...."
# Ted Turner: "I am absolutely convinced that the North Koreans are absolutely sincere. There's really no reason for them to cheat [on nukes]....I looked them right in the eyes. And they looked like they meant the truth. I mean, you know, just because somebody's done something wrong in the past doesn't mean they can't do right in the future or the present. That happens all the, all the time." Accepting for Ted Turner....Ken Cribb
Presented by Mark Levin Runners-up: # "Most Republicans who are registered Republicans are decent, honest good people who you have a difference of opinion with. The leadership of the Republican Party are a bunch of sociopathic maniacs who have their lips super-glued to the ass of the conservative right." -- Actor Alec Baldwin during an appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, April 1. # "The President is a moron! I'm saying it. I don't care. He's an idiot. Cheney is evil. I'm sick of, impeach them, get them out! I hate them! I hate them. Get them out. They got to go!...You shouldn't give any money to religion, religion should be free, what are you sending money to religion for, it's such BS....What do you watch O'Reilly for? He's a moron, he's a fool. O'Reilly's an idiot! He and Hannity can suck it! I hate those two idiots...It's disgusting! What is it going to take for you people? Get Bush out! Impeach. Out! Out! Out!" -- Actress/comedienne Kathy Griffin on Comedy Central's Weekends at the DL, September 10. And the winner is:
Rosie O'Donnell: "This President invaded a sovereign nation in defiance of the UN. He is basically a war criminal. Honestly. He should be tried at The Hague. This man lied to the American public about the reasons for invading a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11. And as a Democrat, as a member of this democracy...I feel I have a responsibility to speak out, as does every other person who disagrees with this administration. And it's scary in a country that you can say something against the President and then worry about your career. That Dan Rather gets taken off CBS News for writing, for saying a report that essentially was true, that George Bush did not show up-" Accepting for Rosie O'Donnell....Stan Evans
The Judges: To select the winners of the MRC's "2006 Dishonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting of 2005," a distinguished panel of 17 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 five 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 Karen Hanna tabulated the ballots. In alphabetical order: - Tony Blankley, Editorial Page Editor of the Washington Times and McLaughlin Group panelist - Neal Boortz, Atlanta-based nationally syndicated radio talk show host - L. Brent Bozell III, President of the Media Research Center - William F. Buckley, Jr., Editor-at-Large of National Review - Steve Forbes, President and CEO of Forbes Inc. - John Fund, columnist for OpinionJournal.com - Sean Hannity, co-host of FNC's Hannity & Colmes and an ABC Radio talk show host - Laura Ingraham, analyst and nationally syndicated radio talk show host - Mark Levin, nationally syndicated ABC Radio talk show host - Rush Limbaugh, host of The Rush Limbaugh Show - Mary Matalin, Editor-in-Chief, Threshold Editions - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and commentator for the Fox News Channel - Kate O'Beirne, Washington Editor of National Review - William Rusher, Distinguished Fellow at the Claremont Institute - Cal Thomas, nationally syndicated columnist and panelist on FNC's Fox NewsWatch - Walter E. Williams, columnist and professor of economics at George Mason University - Thomas S. Winter, Editor-in-Chief of Human Events
For the online posting of the list of judges, with links to Web pages for them: www.mrc.org
Quote of the Year. Following the presentation of the awards, MRC President L. Brent Bozell came on stage where he was joined by Master of Ceremonies Cal Thomas and the three presenters -- Larry Kudlow, Tony Blankley and Mark Levin -- while "noise-makers" were passed out to the audience. Attendees saw replays of the four winning quotes uttered by members of the news media: Chris Matthews, with two, plus Jack Cafferty and Ted Turner. As a picture of each nominee was displayed, audience members were asked by Bozell to use the "noise-makers" to indicate to him and the others on stage their preference so they could decipher the audience's preference. It wasn't even close. Despite Bozell's pleas to remain quiet during the re-play of the videos, many in the crowd made noise during the re-play of the Turner clip. When the screen shots were shown, the audience erupted at seeing Ted Turner's face and so he won the Quote of the Year for this incredible naivete displayed on CNN's September 19 Situation Room:
Ted Turner: "I am absolutely convinced that the North Koreans are absolutely sincere. There's really no reason for them to cheat [on nukes]....I looked them right in the eyes. And they looked like they meant the truth. I mean, you know, just because somebody's done something wrong in the past doesn't mean they can't do right in the future or the present. That happens all the, all the time."
From the March 30 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Things Overheard During George W. Bush's Trip to Cancun." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com 10. "Feels great to get away after three straight weeks of work" 9. "As President of the United States, I pledge to do whatever's necessary to help the Cancunians!" 8. "Couldn't we have stayed home and gone to Chi-Chi's?" 7. "Cozumel? Isn't that the chick I made Secretary of State?" 6. "When do I get to meet Zorro?" 5. "Holy crap, how'd they move these pyramids from Egypt?" 4. "I'll have a non-alcoholic pina colada...just kidding, juice me up, Pepe!" 3. "NAFTA? Don't they make auto parts?" 2. "Secret service! He's choking on a nacho" 1. "Once you get a little buzz going, my poll numbers don't look so bad" -- Brent Baker
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Cal Thomas, Larry Kudlow, Tony Blankley Mark Levin, Jack Singlaub, Stan Evans, Linda Chavez, Ken Cribb and Ron Robinson highlighted the presentations and acceptances of MRC's "2006 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of 2005," which were presented on Thursday night, March 30, before an audience of more than 900 packed into the Independence Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C. 
+ Slam Uncle Sam Award 
+ Cindy Sheehan Media Hero Award 
+ Send Bush to Abu Ghraib Award 
+ Aaron Brown Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis 
+ I'm Not a Political Genius But I Play One on TV Award 
