On Thursday night, March 27, before an audience of more than 800 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Media Research Center presented the “DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of 2002.”

     It was a humorous evening as the audience relished mocking the media’s anti-conservative agenda and promotion of ludicrous liberal reasoning. Following the awards presentation, attendees heard a set a songs from the Charlie Daniels Band.

     Winners were selected by a distinguished panel of 15 leading media observers who served as judges -- including Rush Limbaugh, Lawrence Kudlow, Steve Forbes, Cal Thomas, William F. Buckley Jr., along with Lucianne Goldberg, Michael Reagan, Kate O’Beirne, John Fund, Robert Novak, Walter Williams, L. Brent Bozell III, William Rusher, R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. and Stephen Moore. Alphabetical list of judges with their titles.

     Cal Thomas, a syndicated columnist and host of FNC's After Hours with Cal Thomas, served as Master of Ceremonies. Sean Hannity, national radio talk show host and co-host of FNC's Hannity & Colmes, was the first presenter, followed by national radio talk show host Laura Ingraham and columnist/author Ann Coulter. In place of the journalist who won each award, a conservative accepted it in jest.

     Those standing in for the winners: National Review Editor Rich Lowry, Club for Growth President Steve Moore, Judge Robert Bork, columnist/author Mona Charen and, filling in at last minute for Rush Limbaugh, whose plane was grounded by weather and so was unable make what was planned to be a surprise appearance, Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley.

     The evening began with welcoming remarks from Cal Thomas, an invocation by Reverend Vincent Rigdon, the Pledge of Allegiance led by retired General Ed Hirsch and the singing of God Bless America by Kim Polote.

     At the roast the top three quotes in each category were played in random order followed by the announcement of the winner. Cal Thomas and the presenters entertained the audience with humorous comments about current events and mocking the pretentiousness displayed in the nominated quotes. Each acceptor offered gag reasons for why the member of the media or celebrity who won could not attend.

     Following the five awards, the audience, through its cheering and clapping, picked the Quote of the Year.

     The evening ended with a raucous set of six songs from the Charlie Daniels Band, including “The Last Fallen Hero” and “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

     The Judges: To select the winners of the MRC's DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting of 2002, a distinguished panel of 15 leading observers of the liberal media in action generously gave of their time to serve as our judges. They reviewed three to four quotes in each of five award categories. For each set of quotes the judges picked first and second place choices. First place selections earned three points, second choices were allocated two points. The MRC's Kristina Sewell tabulated the ballots.

     Quote of the Year. Following the presentation of the awards, attendees saw replays of three of the five winning quotes: ABC's David Wright claiming “it is impossible to say whether” the 99.96 percent vote for Saddam Hussein is “a true measure of the Iraqi people’s feelings,” ABC's Barbara Walters proclaiming that “if literacy alone were the yardstick, Cuba would rank as one of the freest nations on Earth,” and Bill Moyers denouncing conservatives for acquiring “monopoly control of the American government and the power of the state to turn their radical ideology into the law of the land.”

     Then, as a picture of each nominee was displayed, audience members were asked by MRC President L. Brent Bozell to hoot, holler and applaud to indicate their preference so that he, along with Cal Thomas, Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter (Sean Hannity had left to do his FNC show), could decipher the audience's preference. David Wright earned scattered applause and Barbara Walters a bit more. But the room erupted with loud and sustained disdain for Moyers.

     We would like to thank our Sponsors and our Congressional Host Committee Members for helping to make the MRC's 2003 DisHonors Awards a great success!

Videos of Award Nominees and Winners:

Ozzy Osbourne Award (for the Wackiest Comment of the Year) See nominees and winner | See video of Sean Hannity presenting award

The I’m Not a Geopolitical Genius But I Play One on TV Award See nominees and winner | See videos of Sean Hannity presenting award

And They Called It Puppy Love Award See Nominees and Winner | See videos of Laura Ingraham presenting award

Ashamed of the Red, White, and Blue Award See nominees and winner | See videos of Laura Ingraham presenting award

I Hate You Conservatives Award See nominees and winner | See videos of Ann Coulter presenting award

• Quote of the Year
  
  
• Distinguished Panel of Judges
  
  
• Photos from the Ceremony
  
  
• Best Notable Quotables of 2002 
  
  
• 2002 DisHonors Awards
  
  
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