Our weekly recognition of less-than-meritorious excellence in journalism is worthy of Pulitzer Prize consideration.
As an extension of the media-mocking venture at Townhall, Riffed From The Headlines, we once again recognize the exalted performances in our journalism industry and compile worthy submissions to the Pulitzer Prize board in numerous categories. To properly recognize the low watermark in the press, let us get right to the latest exemplars of journalistic mis-excellence.
Distinguished Explanatory Reporting
- Leon Panetta — CNN
Following Joe Biden’s fiasco of a European trip, the press has been in a knot on how to frame things for the President. After all, what do you do after declaring Biden’s speech was on the level of other historical greats, only to see the White House come out and disavow numerous points he had made.
In an attempt to fix things, CNN brought on Leon Panetta – he of the famed Intelligence Letter defending Hunter Biden — and when asked why Biden made such mistakes, Leon struggled for an answer, ultimately settling on…
“Joe Biden…is Irish.”
Former Obama Defense Secretary Leon Panetta:
Biden made comments that the White House needed to walk back because "Joe Biden, you know, is Irish." pic.twitter.com/LlYSZHFuNN
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 29, 2022
Distinguished Breaking News
- Ashley Parker — Washington Post
During said Euro trip, we learned about some of the behind-the-scenes action. Not the meetings, not the staff coordinating events, not even the crafting of his speeches. But we did get the scoop on President Joe and his pizza-eating session.
Biden "sat down in the middle of a table, grabbing a piece of pepperoni and jalapeño pizza. The jalapeños made his eyes water, so he dabbed at them with a napkin and someone got him a glass of water." @AshleyRParker putting the spice into an A+ pool report
— Sebastian Smith (@SebastianAFP) March 25, 2022
Distinguished International News
- Flor Wang — Focus Taiwan
While much of the world is ecstatic to be free from the constraints of COVID mandates, we have to remember those who are desirous to remain in those conditions. How else to describe the giddiness from a company that has set the Guinness World Record for creating the world’s largest surgical mask?
It's official: Taiwan has the world's largest medical-grade face mask.https://t.co/4LmtCRyg6P
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) March 27, 2022
Distinguished Public Service
- Chris Cillizza — CNN
Cillizza gives us the harrowing tale he experienced on a recent plane flight when he spotted a couple in front of him leading to his risk of exposure. Despite restrictions dropping everywhere, and soon on air flights, Chris still had his health endangered — also, they were not wearing masks.
Couple in front of me on flight refused to wear masks.
They were tuned to “Tucker” the whole time.
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) March 26, 2022
Distinguished Local Reporting
- PriScilla Aguirre — Laredo Morning Times
After being called out to a location where human remains were reportedly found, the police department in Converse, Texas, issued a statement: “Let’s all work together and discard our trash properly to keep Converse clean.”
This was not a heartless response from a lazy local PD. It turned out the potential crime scene contained a discarded plastic skeleton.
San Antonio-area police department responds to unusual 'skeletal remains' site https://t.co/yXkb9Gu7pS
— Laredo Morning Times (@lmtnews) March 29, 2022
Distinguished Public Service
- Dennis Thompson — United Press International
In a HealthDay News dispatch to help with dogs suffering from ADHD and other health conditions, we learn that a study may have tracked down the source of such behavior.
About 30% of the dogs in the study engaged in repetitive behaviors, the researchers found, and the likelihood of these behaviors was associated with a dog’s home and lifestyle.
It took a study to come up with a result that surprises no one.
“May”
🤣😂🤣😂
I’ve seen enough to know it usually is the human’s inexperience or ignorance at the root of a #dog’s behavioral issues https://t.co/o2sVBUepXC— stephen parsons (@sbplama) March 28, 2022
Distinguished Cultural Commentary
- Alice Gibbs — Newsweek
Look, I understand there is room to report on other stories besides the glaring global problems and domestic strife. No one is saying you cannot report on other lighter fare at the same time. It seems less than frivolous journalism, however, to go into detail that some people see a glass on a kitchen counter and manage to see the image as something else.
Have you seen the Death Star illusion yet?
Our own perception expert Dr Joseph Brooks explains the psychology behind it in @Newsweek magazinehttps://t.co/J3XsAqe9rt#deathstar #illusion #visualsoflife #psychology #keelepsychology pic.twitter.com/QLoPi2vpLj
— Keele Psychology (@KeelePsychology) March 25, 2022
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