To recognize the breadth of this journalism implosion that we cover daily in the “Riffed From the Headlines” column we are awarding an honorarium dubbed "The Heckler Awards." The flood of media malpractice was so extensive we can deliver the (dis)honors seen in the press in four stages: Industry-wide issues, independent examples of notoriety, and then the final two parts covering the categories seen in the column.
In this, the third installment we start digging into the categories involving the outlets or named journalists. In each category we have the nominees, with the winner highlighted. Let’s get to handing out the trophies to the degraded news sources or news makers from the past last year.
Heckler Awards Pt. 1 - Media Trends
Heckler Awards Pt. 2 -- Individual Special (dis)Honors
Heckler Awards Pt. 3 -- The Individual Categories
HOAX & CHANGE - Instances of the press entertaining wild claims
WINNER - VARIOUS OUTLETS
In the weeks following the election disgruntled media members have grown increasingly angry at Elon Musk. First it had been to blame him for Trump’s reelection, but now it has morphed to saying his involvement in the transition and budget battles means he is now the acting president. This defies the past claims these same fevered brains have made, that Trump is an autonomous tyrant, and also that he is controlled by Putin.
GLOSSARY OVER THINGS - Using creative language to push a narrative
WINNER - COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW
This authority on the media gave the members of the press permission to either avoid reporting objectively on Donald Trump, or to criticize any outlets doing so, by accusing this responsible act of journalism as “sane washing” Trump’s assumed crazed condition.
GILDED REFRAME - The unsubtle changing of a prior position
Recommended
WINNER - Caroline Kitchener, WASHINGTON POST
As staffers at The Washington Post railed against their own publication over the lack of making a presidential endorsement, they failed to look ahead at the reactions from readers. The outbursts had provoked many people to go ahead and cancel subscriptions, with the bleating staff now recognizing they inspired a dire result, with one reporter noting that her own mother cancelled her subscription to her daughter’s paper.
1st AMENDMENT STRIKE FORCE - When members of the industry based on free expression look to trample free expression
WINNER - THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Amid all the mewling in the media about the press about how Trump is promised to target journalists and possibly jail those he disagrees with, no one at the same time seemed at all bothered by the fact that Biden’s DOJ arrested journalist Steve Baker, from The Blaze, for recording events during the January 6 riots.
DNC PR FIRM – Sycophantic coverage of the preferred party of the press
WINNER – Kelly O’Donnell, NBC NEWS
In a gushing report about Joe Biden reprising his visit to the Seth Myers late-night talk show, Ms. O’Donnell - who was at the time the president of the White House Correspondents Association - delivered the White House fluff spin, declaring that Biden’s visit on the show was a complete surprise to the audience. She said this, despite the fact that Biden showing up had already been announced, news of him spending the afternoon with Meyers ordering ice cream had come out, and that actress Amy Pohler was on the show, reprising the previous visit Biden made ahead of the previous election.
DEMO-LITION PROJECT – When outlets drive away their audience
WINNERS – CNN / MSNBC
The slide for the two networks only continued, as numbers not seen in decades were experienced. By Thanksgiving both MSNBC and CNN were drawing audiences smaller than the Hallmark Christmas movies.
DEMOCRATIC CUSTODIAL SERVICES – When the press rides in to clean up messes for their preferred party.
WINNER - Chuck Todd, NBC NEWS
On his personal podcast, when speaking with Politico’s Jonathan Martin after the Biden meltdown at the debate, Todd gave a revealing admission he may not have thought all the way through. He stated how he had been in talks with agency officials years ago about Biden’s sliding mental condition, something he never managed to report on in his line of work all that time.
CRIMINAL FAMILY ALBUM – When the press tries creating a sympathetic character
WINNER – THE WASHINGTON POST
The clear intent was to paint the police as overzealous in the shooting death of a black driver. The Post gives a highschool graduation photo of the victim, Dexter Reed, but gives less emphasis on how he attempted to hit police with his vehicle before opening fire on the cops. Also deemphasized was that Reed was not in highschool but was 26 years old at the time of the incident.
BOTH KINDS OF STANDARDS – When the press covers stories based on which party is involved
WINNER – Jonathan Capehart, MSNBC
It was rather cute when the Democrats at their convention attempted to appropriate national pride from the Republicans. This was sheer desperation, after lengthy periods of the Dems and the press demonizing the wanton patriotism seen from conservatives. Capehart took it to even more ridiculous levels, saying when the GOP chants “USA-USA” it was exclusionary, but when the Dems did it that was beautiful and had an inclusive ring to it.
Ducking The Hard Truth – When fact checkers focus on the trivial instead of the Democrats
WINNER – Flynn Nicholls, NEWSWEEK
The manner that Trump causes distemper in the press never disappoints. When a social media post made a clearly gag AI image of the photo from the private jet with Trump and his famous entourage - declaring it to be eerily reflective of a painting from the 1700s - most laughed at the effort. But Mr. Nicholls sprang into action to say the supposed 400-year-old painting does NOT show the men on a plane, and that the artist Dietz Nuutzen does not seem to exist.
BODY CHECKING THE FACT CHECKERS – When facts elude the viscounts of verité’
WINNER - Todd Bensman, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the attempt to disprove Donald Trump’s claim that Biden has secretly flown hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the country, the AP seems to forget what debunking entails. While it stated that his comment was called false, the AP showed these flights were happening, confirmed that over 300,000 had been brought in last year. as for the claim the government was hiding these details, Bensman said he “doesn’t consider the program secretive, but finds it ‘enigmatic’ and lacking in transparency.”
BLUE-ANON – Press conspiracies, from the press that claims to hate them
WINNER – Joy Reid, MSNBC
In a truly unhinged rant regarding Invitro Fertilization the always logical Reid declares that a ruling in Alabama making fertilized embryos declared human is proof of…we are not sure what. Joy states that this ruling means the GOP says there are too many people here for immigration, but at the same they want more kids, and the reason is to use them as slave labor - despite slavery and child labor being illegal - and this is done to replace the migrant laborers. Which…means that Joy is arguing in favor of slavery, just not if it is child slavery. We guess…
ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA – Press aggression seen on the social platforms
WINNER – CNN
In a panel discussion on how Xitter allegedly has become the intolerant hotbed of conservatism, Scott Jennings stated that of the major social platforms, Xitter is the most diverse. When that comment received blowback, he had to inform the members of the CNN panel that the platform was shown to have a near equal balance of liberals and conservatives – as reported on CNN.
ARTISANALLY-CRAFTED NARRATIVES
WINNER – Shefali Luthra, TIME MAGAZINE
Look, we get that the temptation to demonize Ron DeSantis is strong, and the need to criticize abortion laws is pretty significant for the press. Combine those two realities, and you have a compulsory need to level full blast opposition. But to tell us that the oppressive DeSantis is so mean he is preventing MEN from getting abortions…well, you tend to lose the high ground you thought you had taken over on the issue.