Over the past year, we have cataloged the foibles, foul-ups, and facts-averse finagling seen in the press, and with the flip of the calendar, it is only proper that we recognize and reward the best (worst) examples in journalism from 2023. For this inauspicious honor, we have created The Golden Remington Trophy, a nod to days past, when reporters would grind out work, burn shoe leather chasing stories, and journalism ethics still existed.
The Remmy – our statue of the classic typewriter, encased in luxurious repurposed 8-karat gold — is awarded in several categories. Below, they are arranged with the nominees and announced WINNER (the recipient entitled to the physical manifestation upon payment of creation and shipping costs).
So, without any further fanfare, we bring you The Remmys of 2023!
The Joe Biden Honor - (Distinguished reporting on frozen desserts, sponsored by Jeni’s Ice Cream)
Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau went out to share some Friend Chip-flavored ice cream.
Jen Psaki launched her new MSNBC program by having a puffball interview with John Kerry, and they stopped on the National Mall to get some ice cream.
CNN detailed that ice cream sales volume has plummeted, but Americans have spent more on the product. (Inflation is never mentioned as an influence.)
As Hamas played games with the hostage releases, Joe Biden was shopping and got a milkshake. The press was unbothered.
WINNER: CNN
During a campaign stop in July, Donald Trump was in a Dairy Queen and wanted to buy everyone a Blizzard, but was flummoxed as to what a Blizzard actually is. This led to a battle between the camps.
Donald Trump doesn’t know what a blizzard is.
— Ammar Moussa (@ammarmufasa) July 7, 2023
You know who does? Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/fxXKu0dL7O https://t.co/KOpFUDiXdy
The Rice Cake Serving Award - (Distinguished reporting on non-news items, sponsored by Quaker Oats Rice Cakes)
FoxNews reported Katherine McPhee was nearly robbed. A restaurant was targeted — where she had eaten hours earlier.
Ben Smith at Politico detailed all of the guys named “Doug” in Washington, D.C.
CBS News cautioned that Barbie’s Dream Home is imperiled by climate change.
Emily Heil in the Washington Post exposed the scandal that when the Bidens go out to a restaurant, they order the same dish.
WINNER: Renee’ Onque - CNBC
Surely this had to be something tied in to commodities, right? Why else would CNBC be detailing for us that Cher decided to forego eating cheese?
Cher stopped eating cheese in 1991: How changes to her diet then keep her healthy now at 77 https://t.co/Bxb2X5B2tc
— CNBC (@CNBC) September 20, 2023
The Sam Adams Honor - (Distinguished fabricated reporting, sponsored by Sam Adams Lager)
The famed patriot was also a newspaper publisher at one time, and he infamously was willing to print wild lies about his political opponents.
Reuters declared Republicans provided no evidence to show Joe Biden was connected to Hunter’s payments. It provided a picture of Marjorie Taylor Greene holding up the evidence.
Jared Holt wrote about a gathering of Nazis and scorched conservatives for denying they were legitimate – while at the same time, he had to deny these Nazis were vocally supporting Joe Biden.
Wajahat Ali tried to say that his Imam following Muslim scripture and preaching against gays was influenced by Republican propaganda.
After Susanna Gibson was disgraced by the revelations of producing live porn for customers and losing her election bid, Politico allowed her to claim her videos were leaked and that she had been a victim of revenge porn.
WINNER: Simrin Singh - CBS News
In an attempt to underscore how intolerant Ron DeSantis' laws are towards the LGBT𝜋 community, they featured former NBA star Dwayne Wade needing to move from Florida because their child is non-binary and not accepted. The problem is Wade had moved to California for his wife’s career in entertainment - in 2019.
The Jenn Rubin Honor - (Distinguished reporting that contradicts prior reporting, sponsored by BleachBit)
Jennifer is so renowned for making proclamations that contradict her own prior positions that we had to retire her from competition and name an award in her name.
Dana Bash claimed she never spoke to a Democrat supporting late-term abortions. She spoke with John Fetterman, who said he supports late-term abortions.
After boldly declaring it would not use the term “terrorism” for Hamas violence, the BBC reported on a Hamas-sympathizing gunman killing soccer fans in Brussels and freely called it an act of terror.
At CBS News, Scott MacFarlane reported on the IRS announcing it would audit Venmo payments of $600 and up. There were zero comments made about how this was in defiance of the administration pledging it would not target these small transactions — as reported by CBS News.
Jen Psaki spent days trying to unravel her claim that no Democrats support abortion up to the day of birth after she was reminded as WH spokesperson she backed a bill that would provide that very access.
WINNER: The Associated Press
After rewriting the definition of “insurrection” previously in order to qualify the January 6 riot, the AP went back and revised that definition in order to avoid including instances of Democrats committing the same acts inside state capitols.
Republican lawmakers in Montana described a nonviolent protest against the silencing of a transgender lawmaker as an insurrection. It’s a pattern playing out across the U.S. https://t.co/2j7PnPXHl6
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 28, 2023
The Norm Crosby Honor - (Distinguished quotations in news)
Joe Scarborough - MSNBC (complaining about 80-year-old Joe Biden's election team): “His campaign operation, I don't know if everybody is over 80 in his campaign operation, but his campaign operation…”
Mike Allen and Elenore Hawkins - Axios (on the Bud Light controversy reflecting on America): “For trans people, political issues are a matter of life and death.”
Garrett Haake - MSNBC (on the House staging an election for Speaker): “This is a form of election denialism here by some of these Republicans. Remember, McCarthy won a closed-door election back in November. So these members are denying the results of an election, again.”
Jen Psaki - MSNBC: “I’m not saying that Trump is a Nazi, but that is the language of Hitler.”
WINNER: Amanda Bennett, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media/VOA
In response to Elon Musk placing the “state-supported media” label on Voice of America, its CEO came out with this defense: “We completely reject the implications of the label ‘government-funded.' Of course we’re government-funded, but it’s potentially misleading.”
The New York Post Prize - (Distinguished accomplishments in headline writing)
Wall Street Journal - “The Metaverse Is Quickly Turning Into the Meh-Teverse”
People Magazine - “Pregnant Woman Catches 2-Year-Old Boy Who Fell From a Second-Story Window While Walking Her Dog”
BBC - “Alleged Former Russian Spy Whale Spotted Off Sweden’s Coast”
The Hill (caught using AI for headline about the 3M Corporation) - “3 million laying off 10 percent of workforce amid slowing demand”
WINNER: Daily Star - For a headline you know the interns dared each other to submit, and the editors completely missed
“Great Tits Have Saved Conkers by Gobbling Mini Worms”
Distinguished Photojournalism (sponsored by Polaroid)
CBS News and CNN both posted photos of the “weapons cache” found in the home of intelligence leaker Jack Teixeira. They were Airsoft toy guns.
Not having learned a lesson from the embarrassment by @CBSNews, now we have @CNN detailing that Jack Teixeira had "multiple weapons, including an AK-style high capacity weapon".
— Brad Slager: Flips On The Highbeams In Fog Of War (@MartiniShark) April 28, 2023
Those are toys. There really is no excuse for this nonsense. pic.twitter.com/JUgOyhC5LF
On MSNBC, they attempted to mock Ron DeSantis holding his official campaign announcement on Twitter. Despite millions having listened, their report claimed there was a small number at its peak and then posted a graphic showing a significantly higher figure.
If the peak number was 300K, why does it show you were listening to the Space when there were 534K listeners? pic.twitter.com/wlWV1S0Xmt
— Damin Toell (@damintoell) May 25, 2023
CNN attempted to join in on the hysteria this summer that we had experienced the hottest month in over 100,000 years. Their dystopian message was only slightly undercut by providing a picture of women bundled up in jackets and sweaters.
Heat waves in three continents have driven the planet's average temperature in July to levels not seen in 120,000 years, scientists say https://t.co/IMX5qsZPig pic.twitter.com/GMr1XYrSDy
— CNN (@CNN) July 27, 2023
A McDonald’s customer in Britain said he spotted a “smiling” french fry in his meal. Before he consumed the giddy appetizer, he snapped a photo, and the press saw fit to run this as if it were an actual news story.
Awards-worthy Journalism.
— Brad Slager: Flips On The Highbeams In Fog Of War (@MartiniShark) December 13, 2023
"McDonald's fan spots 'smiling chip' peeping back at him"https://t.co/j0C5sL3lAH
WINNER: JOSÉ BETANZOS - Vice World News
In covering the aftermath of the gunfight that took place at the compound of the son of infamous cartel operator El Chapo, Vice provided pictures of the dramatic scene. We are not sure of the need to pump up the drama, but this was less dramatic, considering what the camera shows embedded in a hole is clearly an unfired bullet.
At @Vice they have this photo accompanying its piece on the attack on the compound of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzman.
— Brad Slager: Flips On The Highbeams In Fog Of War (@MartiniShark) January 24, 2023
Apparently, they somehow shot at him with unfired bullets. This should be embarrassing for a news outlet, but they are beyond that emotion.https://t.co/JjXYUMON3J pic.twitter.com/AtQ3QWUO9r
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