John Ziegler: A New Low Point for the Media: Couric Wins Award for Outrageously Biased Palin Interview (Video)

From John Ziegler, creator of the documentary Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.



On April 15th, the once upon a time prestigious (and apparently now openly a political leftist propaganda tool, akin to the Nobel Prize given to Paul Krugmann -not elevating leftist quacks, but rather tarnishing once noble institutions) USC Annenberg School for Communication will be presenting CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Journalism.

Now, for there to even be such a thing as an prize for Excellence in Television Journalism, in an age where a desperate thirst for ratings has ca More..used most TV news to become little more than glorified infotainment, is a bit like passing out awards for fiscal responsibility to members of Congress. But for Katie Couric, the poster child of news as infotainment, to be the recipient of such an honor is like giving John Murtha or Barney Frank a trophy for frugal spending in Congress.

But what makes this situation so particularly galling is the specific reason why Couric is being honored for her excellence in journalism. Couric is being presented with the award for Special Achievement for National Impact on the 2008 Campaign.

What was it that Couric did that was so special? The judges singled her out solely for her extraordinary, persistent and detailed multi-part interviews with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Of course, there is no disputing the fact that the perception created by Courics interview and the ensuing media and entertainment coverage of it clearly had an enormous impact on the 2008 presidential election. But is this the kind of achievement that journalism is supposed to be honoring? (If it is, shouldnt the award really go to Tina Fey?) And is there any doubt that if Couric asked Palin the exact same questions and she had been viewed as performing well (or if one of her softball interviews with Barack Obama had brought down his candidacy) that there would be no awards for her from USC or anyone else of note?

It is obvious that Couric is being rewarded for the political result of her interview the shooting down of a conservative superstar just in time to save the Obama campaign. Its not about the journalism at all. But even that truth is not the most outrageous aspect of this absurdity. Whats even more absurd is that not only shouldnt Couric be getting rewarded for her Palin interview, if we lived in a world where journalistic standards still mattered at all, she would have been roundly condemned for it.

How do I know this? Because I have devoted most of the last eight months of my life to telling the real story behind the media coverage of the 2008 election with my documentary Media MalpracticeHow Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted. (http://www.howobamagotelected.com/) The focal point of my film is the exclusive interview I did with Governor Palin from her home in Wasilla where she reveals more than enough evidence to completely discredit Courics USC award.

Even though my Palin interview has gotten a ridiculous amount of media coverage, nearly every TV journalist has somehow missed the most important revelation regarding the Couric-Palin showdown. That dealt with how Courics agenda -driven obsession with trapping the governor on the abortion issue convinced Palin that she was in enemy territory and that nothing Couric asked was to be trusted or taken on face value.