Last week, a group of heroic Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill saved an American flag from being torn down a desecrated by a mob of anti-Semitic/pro-Hamas student extremists. But in the week since the incident occurred, the flagship morning and evening newscasts of ABC and CBS ignored the incident, while NBC only gave their heroism in the face of evil anti-Americanism a fleeting eight seconds on NBC Nightly News two nights later. To be fair, the broadcast networks were too busy whining about the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia University being busted by the NYPD. ABC in particular was also busy lying about the UCLA encampment being “largely peaceful.” And CBS was busy worrying that the protests could hurt President Biden’s reelection chances. ABC and CBS might argue that they thought that the flag-saving incident didn’t rise to a level that would allow it to be considered a national story, but that’s debunked by the fact that at least NBC gave it a few seconds. NBC correspondent Liz Kreutz tucked the frat bros into a much larger report on the college encampments generally. “This American flag at UNC put back in place and protected in part by a group of fraternity brothers after protesters had replaced it with a Palestinian flag,” she said.   This 8-seconds from NBC Nightly News (May 2) was all the Big Three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) could muster for the heroic frat bros at UNC who saved an American flag from the anti-Semitic/pro-Hamas extremists who gathered on campus. It's been a week. pic.twitter.com/kxtQtVnTMi — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 6, 2024   On Thursday’s edition of NewsNation’s On Balance, host Leland Vittert spoke with three of the brothers to get a sense of what it was like in the moment and what it’s been like since the video of them saving the flag went viral. “When we saw our brothers there defending that flag, there was no doubt in any of our minds that we're going to go and join them,” Zachary Serinsky explained. “I'm glad that it was able to be put to an end. And the way that it did eventually. But yeah, we were there defending our brothers and there wasn't going to be anything that was going to stop us from going to that flag.” When asked about the GoFundMe campaign set up on their behalf to pay for a party (which at the time of the interview had raised over $400,000) and the John Rich concert they were getting as a reward, Trevor Lan stated: I mean, I think that we can all agree that we didn't anticipate that that part of it would occur, but we did know that it's important to stand strong on our beliefs and to be a representation of what we hope to see for Jewish students and for students who believe in our flag and democracy across the country.     Brendan Rosenblum said that people have reached out to them about job opportunities, “But again, like, that's not what this was about. It was just to bring attention to the issue we believe in.” He was also hopeful about how their actions changed the conversation on campus. “People are talking to both sides about it and trying to have constructive dialogue because they realize that what happened on our campus is not okay and we have to figure out a way to move forward together,” he said. “And that's the biggest, the most positive thing that came out of this. And I think that's something that we both, and everyone there can be proud of.” The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: NewsNation’s On Balance May 2, 2024 7:07:54 p.m. Eastern (…) LELAND VITTERT: I want to bring in the boys here in a second. Zachary Serinsky, Brendan Rosenblum, Trevor Lan. The guys who are in that video. Brendan, we had you we had you yesterday. Start with Zachary, real quick. You guys just did what you thought was the right thing. All of a sudden. Are you surprised by the result? ZACHARY SERINSKY: I'm not. first of all, thank you for having us. We’re all happy to be here. When we saw our brothers there defending that flag, there was no doubt in any of our minds that we're going to go and join them. I'm glad that it was able to be put to an end. And the way that it did eventually. But yeah, we were there defending our brothers and there wasn't going to be anything that was going to stop us from going to that flag. VITTERT: All right. But Trevor, I think about this. Right, okay. A couple days ago, you guys did the right thing. You weren’t doing it for fame or for glory. You were doing it because you thought it was the right thing to do. You were there with your brothers who were taking a stand and now you're on TV with John Rich, who is going to play you a concert with $400,000 worth of free beer. That's pretty cool. TREVOR LAN: Yeah. I mean, I think that we can all agree that we didn't anticipate that that part of it would occur, but we did know that it's important to stand strong on our beliefs and to be a representation of what we hope to see for Jewish students and for students who believe in our flag and democracy across the country. VITTERT: Brendan, tell me what's happened in the past 24 hours and the conversations you've had. BRENDAN ROSENBLUM: Yeah, I think first of all, we've definitely got a lot more media attention. And for us, it's not about fame, it's not about coolness. It's about bringing attention to our message. Stand up for what you believe in, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. For me, it’s when your values are questioned that’s when it matters. It's easy to believe in something when no one – it’s easy – But when people question that, that's when it's important to stand by them. (…) 1:12:57 p.m. Eastern ROSENBLUM: I think there's been a lot of outreach, there's definitely been job opportunities. But again, like, that's not what this was about. It was just to bring attention to the issue we believe in. And I think the biggest thing we saw from this is people are talking about it. People are talking to both sides about it and trying to have constructive dialogue because they realize that what happened on our campus is not okay and we have to figure out a way to move forward together. And that's the biggest, the most positive thing that came out of this. And I think that's something that we both, and everyone there can be proud of. (…)

Another week, another teacher sexually assaulting a student. Maddison Bergmann, a 24-year-old Wisconsin elementary school teacher, was arrested recently after allegedly making out with one of her 5th grade students. Screenshots from numerous text message conversations between the victim and Bergmann suggest that the sexual abuse took place during lunch or after school, CBS News reported. Apparently, the victim’s mother overheard a phone call between Bergmann and her son which prompted the mother to go through her 11-year-old's cellphone. The victim then told investigators that he spoke with Bergmann “almost daily.” When the child’s father found out about the alleged relationship, he marched to River Crest Elementary with the printed conversations from his son's phone, leading to police being called “regarding inappropriate conduct between a current teacher and a 5th grade student.” Additionally, court documents indicate that Bergmann’s bag had a folder in it with handwritten notes from the victim. The victim noted that the boy and his teacher would write notes to one another talking about “kissing each other” throughout the day. Related: Church Volunteer Accused of Sexual Assaulting 15-Year-Old Boy “One of my cousins is in the 5th grade and I can't imagine a man talking to her how we talk. I know we have a special relationship and I do love you more than anyone in the world but I have to be the adult here and stop,” one of the notes, allegedly from Bergmann, said. Documents also report that Bergmann told the victim how much she enjoyed “him touching her” and “making out” with him, the New York Post reported. After being arrested and released on a $25,000 bond, Bergmann has been placed on administrative leave and faces one count of first-degree child sexual assault. Her fiancé has since reportedly called off their July wedding, shocking no one. Sadly, stories like this one are becoming way too common. It’s essentially weekly that we here at MRCTV report on another teacher sexually assaulting one or more of her students, often repeatedly. If you were considering homeschooling and needed something to push you in one direction or the other, this is it. Follow us on Twitter/X: Woke of The Weak: The Left Needs Therapy & You Might Too After Watching This The people featured in this video really need therapy & our prayers too. pic.twitter.com/zLbJcivOW3 — MRCTV (@mrctv) April 30, 2024

Google is back to its old censorship tricks, leaving no room for MAGA sense of humor. Last Friday, Google made some waves on X when it was caught censoring an ad supporting former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign multiple times. Google reportedly restored the ad the following day, claiming it had flagged it “in error.” MRC President Brent Bozell decried this sorry excuse. “This is unacceptable,” he said. “Why did Google remove the ad from Trump's Super PAC in the first place? This is a continuation of a campaign against conservatives.” Bozell's reaction came after Google censored a Trump ad scheduled to run from May 1 to May 3, according to screenshots of Google’s Ad Library posted by Andrew Arenge, a director of operations for the Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. The ad depicted a fictional phone call between a Biden campaign aide and a voter. “Everything costs more. Food, gas, rent,” the voter complained. The campaign aide was piped back, touting Biden's disastrous immigration policy. “OK, but Biden’s helping pay rent for newcomers to America from around the world,” the campaign aide responded.  The voter was not impressed, saying “You mean, illegal immigrants? I’m struggling to pay my bills, but Biden’s paying rent for illegals? They get handouts, and I’m paying for it.” The voter added, “Things were better before Biden. I’m voting for Trump!”  Trump’s Super PAC is running this ad in rural Georgia counties targeting Black men. pic.twitter.com/mcRMkGsqLN — Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 3, 2024 Google’s recent bout of censorship should come as no surprise and must be called out for what it is. “This is election interference, pure and simple. Congress must investigate @Google for this and the other 41 cases of election interference we found since 20[0]8,”  Bozell posted on X Friday.  This is election interference, pure and simple. Congress must investigate @Google for this and the other 41 cases of election interference we found since 2018. https://t.co/Gd1hEF1xJA — Brent Bozell (@BrentBozell) May 3, 2024 MRC Free Speech America released a study in March detailing 41 times Google was caught interfering in U.S. elections, beginning in 2008, intensifying in 2016 and continuing into 2024. The platform has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to engage in election-interfering tactics including creating AI that has a bias against certain candidates, launching autofill manipulation and burying candidates' campaign websites in their search results.  But Google always seems to either ignore the problem or frame it as an unfortunate, albeit unintentional, “error.” As Bozell described it, “When Google gets caught interfering in elections, they reverse themselves claiming an 'error' occurred.” This happened in 2020 when the platforms suspended then-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) ad account during the height of her popularity, and in 2008 when Google’s blogging platform flagged then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) supporters.  And the censorship always seems to impact candidates who step in the way of the most extreme leftist candidate, regardless of party—and Google has yet to answer for its ongoing election interference.  Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

You can take the press secretary out of the White House, but you can’t take the White House out of the press secretary. Despite now being a member of the press (after her ethically dubious hiring by NBC/MSNBC), former Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared on Monday’s edition of The View and defended President Biden’s refusal to do press conferences and his desire to only grant sit down interviews to friendly media outlets that give him a tongue bath. Psaki was teed up by faux-conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who framed her question about Biden’s lack of “press availabilities” as her providing free campaign advice: So Jen, you have been on both sides as working as a press secretary, but also now being in the media. And there's been a lot of criticism of Biden, most recently from The New York Times that he's held the fewest interviews and press availabilities of any president since Reagan. I personally think it would help dispel some of the concerns about his age if he did more. What would your advice be to the White House in terms of his accessibility to press? The former press secretary turned MSNBC host began by suggesting that it was so hard for Biden to pick which media outlets to give interviews to because, “the benefit of the media environment right now…is that there are so many choices” and the goal is “just trying to communicate with the American people.”     Played to her hosts’ massive egos, Psaki further advised Biden that “he should come on The View before he does a press conference.” Which got an excited “Thank you!” screech from Farah Griffin. Psaki argued that it was better for the American people to hear Biden take part in “real conversations” with hosts that love him (and shows The View co-hosts seemed to enjoy): PSAKI: He should because people want to have real conversations about issues that are happening. I think press conferences are important, but I also think him doing Howard Stern – SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes! PSAKI: -- that's an interview that reached a broader audience of people. Him talking to the guys from Smart List, which is a great podcast – SARA HAINES: Oh, I love that podcast. “So, I would say more Howard Stern. Come on The View. You know, more Smart List conversations where you’re having conversations about policy, but they're real ones that people have at their kitchen table,” she declared. Pretend-independent co-host Sara Haines even suggested that she rarely hears any important information distributed during a press conference, which she claimed were “just gotcha moments.” “Sometimes, as a citizen, when I watch I don't want just the same just like catching moment. I want to know what's going on and I don't always get that from a press conference,” she lamented. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View May 6, 2024 11:39:34 a.m. Eastern (…) ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: So Jen, you have been on both sides as working as a press secretary, but also now being in the media. And there's been a lot of criticism of Biden, most recently from The New York Times that he's held the fewest interviews and press availabilities of any president since Reagan. I personally think it would help dispel some of the concerns about his age if he did more. What would your advice be to the White House in terms of his accessibility to press? JEN PSAKI: Well, I think the benefit of the media environment right now – there's a lot of challenges, but I'll start at the optimistic side – is that there are so many choices. And when you’re communicating from the White House, I mean, respect for freedom of speech and freedom of the press is important, but you're also really just trying to communicate with the American people. So, my view is he should come on The View before he does a press conference. [Applause] FARAH GRIFFIN: Thank you! PSAKI: He should because people want to have real conversations about issues that are happening. I think press conferences are important, but I also think him doing Howard Stern – SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes! PSAKI: -- that's an interview that reached a broader audience of people. Him talking to the guys from Smart List, which is a great podcast – SARA HAINES: Oh, I love that podcast. PSAKI: So, if you are in the White House, you're not thinking about, “Am I checking the box on doing the most interviews?” You're thinking about, “Am I doing the most I can to communicate my message to the American people?” That's who I represent. So, I would say more Howard Stern. Come on The View. You know, more Smart List conversations where you’re having conversations about policy, but they're real ones that people have at their kitchen table. HAINES: And they're also not just gotcha moments. PSAKI: Yeah. HAINES: Sometimes, as a citizen, when I watch I don't want just the same just like catching moment. I want to know what's going on and I don't always get that from a press conference. PSAKI: Yes. Exactly. (…)

On Sunday’s World News Tonight and Monday’s Good Morning America (GMA), ABC rolled out the first two segments on their flagship newscasts of their network exclusive interview with former Fulton County, Georgia special prosecutor Nathan Wade over losing his job nearly two months ago in the 2020 election case against former President Trump and 18 others because of his illicit romantic relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis. Correspondent, Sunday World News Tonight anchor, and ABC News Live host Linsey Davis didn’t lob one softball after another, but she largely let him off the hook by fretting Wade and Willis were caught and thus were a collective “whirlwind of distraction” from the fourth Trump indictment and letting Wade offer no serious apologies as he called their trysts “as American as apple pie.” On Sunday night, Davis opened with Wade’s soundbite that “[w]orkplace romances are as American as apple pie” and occur with “everyone” but bemoans the fact that they were caught. Asked if he regrets becoming involved with Willis, Wade replied he only “regret[s]” this “private matter became the focal point of this very important prosecution”. In the other Q&A, Davis only wondered if they had really grappled with the fact that “democracy is on the line, as has been described” and thought of putting the country above their relationship. Wade again displayed zero remorse, only saying he’d “concede that that could have been an approach, but...when you are in the middle of it, these feelings are developing, and you get to a point to where the feelings are — are — are so strong that, you know, you start to want to do things that really are none of the public’s concern.” While Wade won’t end up in prison, the guy belongs in some sort of dog house or horny jail for how shameless the man remains about his escapades. Monday’s GMA brought about just over six and a half additional minutes of this cringe. Davis boasted that “Wade had a lot to get off his chest” about losing the case he had “spen[t] 865 days” working on what would be yet another case of election interference.     Setting the tone this wouldn’t be grilling by starting with Wade telling her he “want[s] people to know the real me”, Davis reracked the first exchange that aired on Sunday night about office sex is “as American as apple pie” and he only regrets being caught. Davis then fretted “[t]he relationship created a whirlwind of distraction from the indictment of former President Trump and 18 others for alleged election interference” and put the brakes on their prosecutions. As a way to seem tough, she quoted far-left feminist Post columnist Monica Hesse and wondered why it took them 25 days to fight back (click “expand”): DAVIS [TO WADE]: A Washington Post columnist wrote, “what were they thinking? How would they start a romance, embroiled in the prosecution of a former President, start a romance and not see this trouble coming a mile away.” And so, what were you thinking in that moment? WADE: You know, again, you — you don’t plan to — to develop feelings. You don’t plan to — to fall in love. You don’t plan to — to — to have some relationship in the workplace that we — you don’t set out to do that and those things develop organically. They develop over — over time. And the — the minute we had that sobering moment, we discontinued it. DAVIS: For nearly one month after news of their relationship broke, neither prosecutor acknowledged it publicly. [TO WADE] So, for 25 days, we didn’t hear from — from you or District Attorney Willis. You’re a public servant — right — getting paid by the state of — of Georgia. Why not say, okay, we’ll — we’ll make a statement, get on top of this? WADE: Let me say this. My conversation here with you today is just that. It’s — it’s Nathan’s conversation. I — I do not speak for the district attorney’s office. I do not speak for their position. As a matter of fact, I am certain that they would rather me not be having this — this exchange with you. So, with that, I want to continue to protect the integrity of this prosecution. I don’t want to say or do anything that would jeopardize this case. After a comical aside with Wade claiming his relationship with Willis hasn’t had an effect on the case, Davis somewhat incredulously and somewhat sympathetically played along as he claimed he wasn’t ready for the public spotlight from having been named to the case and whined about Trump attacking him (click “expand”): DAVIS: One aspect Wade said he wasn’t prepared for was the intense public scrutiny and harassment he said he’s faced. [TO WADE] So, you didn’t realize when you took the case your life was going to be under a microscope? WADE: I did not realize that my life would be in danger. The microscope — I don’t have a problem with. The truth is I — you know, the worst that you could find was the fact that I had a relationship with someone or that I — I happened to be going through a divorce, that’s okay. That — that’s okay. I — I had nothing to — to hide. DAVIS: And some of the attacks have come from the former President himself. [TO WADE] Is there any part of you that regrets that you gave him any aspect to say, oh, you have to question the credibility of this case because of the relationship between Fani Willis and Nathan Wade? WADE: So, while — while I will concede, Miss Davis, that the relationship did not happen in ideal timing, I don’t think that anything that occurred during the course of the relationship should cause question as it would relate to the efficiency of the indictment, as it would relate to evidence that was uncovered and — and — and may or may not be presented at — at trial. Following one final clip of Wade expressing confidence the trial will happen, Davis told the GMA crew back live that “one thing Wade says he does regret is the impact the scandal has had on his adult children” and “[h]e wants people to know he was separated at the time of the relationship with Fani Willis”. To see the relevant ABC transcripts, click here (for May 5) and here (for May 6).

The liberal media isn't waiting for Donald Trump to announce his running mate before going on the attack. MSNBC has aired a pre-emptive strike on all the potential VP candidates. And not only did it contain a vitriolic denunciation of them, but it also included a not-so-veiled threat of the most ominous sort. Tara Setmayer, a former Republican congressional staffer turned member of the disgraced Lincoln Project, was a guest on Sunday's edition of MSNBC's The Weekend. Here's how she vilified the people whose names are apparently in the running as Trump's running mate: "They're despicable hypocrites. These are the worst people, because Donald Trump couldn't become who he has become, the malignancy of Trump could not have spread like this without the enablers.  "Plain and simple: these are Vichy Republicans. And for the historians out there, they will appreciate what happened to the Vichys during World War II." "What happened to the Vichys?" Readers will recall that during WWII, the Vichys were established in France as a puppet government of Nazi Germany. They were a government of Hitler collaborators.  And, to answer Setmayer, "what happened" to the Vichys? When the war ended, more than 10,000 were executed. So Setmayer was sending a chilling threat to the potential VP candidates and anyone else who might "collaborate" with Trump: you might meet the same fate as the French collaborators with the Nazis! And the liberal media denounces Trump's alleged disregard for the rule of law and threats against opponents? Note: This wasn't the first time we've caught Setmayer jumping ugly against Republicans. Last year, when Ron DeSantis was riding high as a potential Republican presidential candidate, we noted Setmayer attacking his wife Casey as a "Serena Waterford wannabe." As we wrote at the time: "Waterford is the character from The Handmaid's Tale who has been described, in a website about screen villains, as "the cruel, fanatically religious wife of Fred Waterford, the dictator of Gilead." Setmayer did stop short of recommending Vichy-collaborator treatment for Casey DeSantis.

We witnessed another mediocre edition of Saturday Night Live on NBC, but one snippet of the "Weekend Update" fake-news caught my attention. It came from fake anchor Michael Che, blink and you’ll miss it. He joked Biden supporters are "more likely to get their news from newspapers and mainstream media, while Trump supporters get their news from T-SHIRTS!" The T-shirt on screen said “Joe Biden sucks.” Translation: Democrats read The New York Times for hours, then probably master the crossword puzzle in a half-hour. Republicans read T-shirts and maybe a bumper sticker or two. Yes the right-wingers are too stupid for news reports in complete sentences. SNL’s analysis of media consumption among conservatives are pretty much like the scribbles on the front of a T-shirt. SNL could be speaking for our media elites. If you fail to read them and trust them implicitly and follow all of their political marching orders, they assume you hate a free press and wish desperately for the End of Democracy. Also: A new poll from AP and the American Press Institute found only 14 percent of expressed a great deal of confidence in election-related information they receive from national media. By contrast, 52 percent have little or no confidence at all in the information they receive from national news organizations. 53 percent, say they are extremely or very concerned that news organizations will report inaccuracies or misinformation during the election. Imagine that! AP media reporter David Bauder turned to American Press Institute chief Michael Bolden, who said “Years of suspicion about journalists, much of it sown by politicians, is partly responsible, he said. People are also less familiar with how journalism works.” Reporters have sown “years of suspicion about politicians.” That’s how investigating politician performance could be described. So why would investigating journalist performance draw complaints of “sowing years of suspicion”? Why can they never be evaluated for how they serve the public? They want to run the country, and they don’t want you complaining about it, okay? Bolden is implying that politicians have swindled the public with this liberal-bias thing, because they’re not very bright. Then he lobbed another insult, that people aren’t familiar with “how journalism works.” Oh no, we know exactly how it works, and we know it's not working for us. Enjoy the podcast below, or whenever you listen to podcasts. 

News broke yesterday of a blocked U.S. weapons transfer to Israel, as ceasefire negotiations appeared to be stalled and the invasion of Rafah appeared imminent. A full day later, no evening network newscast reported on this dramatic shift in U.S. policy towards Israel save for NBC Nightly News.  Even then, the report was sparse: an addendum tacked on to the end of Richard Engel’s dispatch on Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire deal negotiated between Hamas and Hamas. Watch all 28 seconds of genre-leading coverage, as aired on NBC Nightly News on Monday, May 6th, 2024: LESTER HOLT: Richard, meanwhile we've learned The White House has stopped a U.S. shipment of military aid to Israel. RICHARD ENGEL: This is a rare move, Lester. The White House blocking a large shipment of offensive weapons including 2,000-pound bombs, just as Israel's intensifying military operations in Rafah. Two administration officials confirming it, but say that it does not reflect a shift in overall policy. The White House isn't commenting. Lester. HOLT: Richard Engel, thank you. That 28 seconds was more than ABC or CBS mustered on their respective evening newscasts, which is surprising given the magnitude of such a story breaking over the weekend, and especially so within the context of an impending (or ongoing, depending on who you ask) IDF invasion of Rafah. As Axios reported: The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios. Why it matters: It is the first time since the Oct. 7 attack that the U.S. has stopped a weapons shipment intended for the Israeli military. The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said.   President Biden is facing sharp criticism among Americans who oppose his support of Israel. The administration in February asked Israel to provide assurances that U.S.-made weapons were being used by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in accordance with international law. Israel provided a signed letter of assurances in March. Axios goes on to report that the shipment was blocked last week. Perhaps this is what prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say the following as part of his statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day: From here in Jerusalem, I am sending a very clear-cut message: you will not chain our hands and even if Israel has to stand alone, it will stand alone and will continue to fight our enemies until victory. None of this was reported to the American people, who got all of 28 seconds across three network prime-time newscasts. It seems important, too, this shift in U.S. policy towards a significant ally. One is ultimately left wondering whether coverage of the war in Gaza is driven by facts on the ground of poll numbers coming out of Michigan. The handling of this story suggests the latter.  

The corporate media, quick to characterize conservative reaction to the news of the day as “pouncing” and seizing”, are currently doing just that all over Gov. Kristi Noem’s latest book and the revelations therein. Which is their right. But in the interest of walking and chewing gum at the same time, there should be an equal focus on statements just made by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Watch as Gov. Hochul demonstrates the left’s casual bigotry of low expectations, saying to WashPost editor and MSNBC/PBS host Jonathan Capehart’s face that there are “black kids growing up in The Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is”: KATHY HOCHUL: In fact, I talk to a lot of other people who say, “I wish my governor had thought of that first”, and I say, “No no, this is New York. We like to be first, with all due respect to people from other states. It's sort of- it's sort of our attitude. You know, “we will be the best- we will be the first”. And I want others to follow because right now we have, you know, young black kids growing up in The Bronx who don't even know what the word “computer” is. They- they don't know- they don't know these things, and I want the world to open up to all of them because when you have their diverse voices innovating solutions through technology, then you're really addressing society's broader challenges. Can you get away with casual racism so long as you wrap your casual racism around some woke word salad? Hochul certainly seems to think so. And Capehart offers no challenge or pushback against what Hochul is saying here. From a journalistic perspective, of course.  One immediately wonders what the fallout would be if it were a conservative saying such things. Where would media reaction fall on a scale of 1-Chernobyl? The more prominent the governor, the closer to Chernobyl. Just imagine the coverage if, say, Ron DeSantis had said something similar. There is literally no excuse for the media not covering Hochul’s statements. The lazy corporate media tend to turn New York stories into national stories. By extension, THIS is a national story. In this day and age, Hochul’s utterances warrant ceaseless A-block coverage up and down the dial. We’ll soon find out whether governor scandals draw equal coverage on the merits, or whether there in fact is a (D)ifference.  

With our third annual Bulldog Awards in six categories announced today, the Media Research Center is honoring conservatives in the media who truly deserve accolades yet will never receive them from the news media establishment. The winners of the MRC’s 2024 Bulldog Awards: Victor Davis Hanson, Ben Shapiro, Seth Dillon, Salena Zito, Peter Schweizer, Kassy Akiva and Dennis Prager. The biggest journalism awards, the Pulitzer Prizes, were announced on Monday, May 6. Inevitably, they honored journalists who pushed liberal agenda topics. (See the bottom of this post for some examples.) In announcing this year’s winners, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell III said: “Like everything else the left controls, major journalism awards are rigged to reward people who advance their most radical agenda priorities. If you want to win a Pulitzer, write about 'climate change' or 'systemic racism' or 'reproductive health' or promote ‘Russian collusion.’ If you want to win a Bulldog Award, tell the truth. This year's winners are great American truth-tellers.” Bozell added, “I applaud Victor’s wise insights, Ben’s savage podcasts, Seth’s mockery of the left and defense of free speech, Salena giving voice to Middle-America, Peter’s damning investigations, Kassy’s war coverage and exposing anti-Semitism and Dennis’s can’t-miss radio show and work at PragerU. Congratulations to this year’s winners!” Previous: 2022 and 2023 Bulldog winners Details on the seven winners of the MRC’s 2024 Bulldog Awards announced Tuesday, May 7: ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Lifetime Achievement: Victor Davis Hanson The leading conservative thinker and author of our age, Victor Davis Hanson has for decades offered wise guidance on a wide range of issues, providing intellectual fuel for conservatives battling the latest liberal schemes to undermine traditional American values.   A man of many skills and passions, he’s a farmer, university professor, historian and prolific author. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded him the National Humanities Medal. He’s written or edited 25 books, and is probably best known for his 2002 treatise, ‘Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power.’ His latest book, the much-anticipated ‘The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation,’ is being published this week. For years his articles were must-reads in the pages of National Review. Today, cable news viewers who are privileged to catch one of his appearances always come away with a broader and deeper understanding of the issue at hand. He’s now the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where his focus is on classics and military history. He also teaches in the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.     ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Podcast: Ben Shapiro Ben Shapiro is a super-star of podcasters, his popular podcast rightly touted as “the hardest hitting, most insightful, and savagely irreverent conservative podcast on the web.” In a sign of his popularity and desire of so many to hear his takes on the latest news, radio stations across the country air his daily podcast as a radio show. A whole generation of young conservatives considers Shapiro an inspiration and point to him when asked who is the conservative voice they trust the most. He is also a leading speaker on college campuses where he’s willing to confront liberal assumptions and “woke” students on the most contentious issues. Shapiro’s podcast and radio show are part of a much larger media empire he has been a key player in building. He’s the founding editor-in-chief and editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, a profitable media company producing a wide-array of original products which push conservative values into the wider hostile culture, including a popular news web site, video shows and audio productions, and a pioneering move into original production documentaries and entertainment films from a conservative perspective.   ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Social Media Personality: Seth Dillon Seth Dillon, a battler for free speech and producer of much-needed mockery of cancel culture, has been CEO of The Babylon Bee since 2018. He’s grown the site into a national treasure, a compelling daily creator of articles and videos decimating, through satire, the Left and “woke” culture. Dillon observes that “jokes are funny because of their proximity to the truth” and “the problem now isn’t that our satire is too close to reality, it’s that reality is too close to satire.” As “Your Trusted Source for Christian News Satire,” the Babylon Bee drives liberals crazy as conservatives laugh at how the site skewers liberals with their own hypocrisy. So-called “fact check” and social media sites have embarrassed themselves by deplatforming and canceling Dillon and the Babylon Bee for supposed disinformation, unable to recognize satire or tolerate any ridicule of themselves. In on the joke, the X page for the Babylon Bee, restored by new X owner Elon Musk, dubs itself: “Fake news you can trust.” Indeed it is. ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Columnist: Salena Zito Salena Zito is the “Middle America”-whisperer, relaying the views and passions of the heartland to those on the coasts. As she best explains herself: “In my estimation, there is no patch of geography in this country that is the ‘middle of nowhere.’ This is America; everywhere is the middle of somewhere.” Based in Western Pennsylvania, she joined the Washington Examiner in 2016 as a political reporter and columnist, just in time to chronicle Donald Trump’s popularity in her region. Her columns also appear in the New York Post and she appears as a guest on the Fox News Channel and Newsmax. In 2018, she co-authored, ‘The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics.’ Amongst her unique 2023 column takes: “Community colleges and trade schools are largely void of Israel-Hamas protests”; “What the ‘Great Trucking Recession’ is warning us about the economy”; “The general store that cultivated a community one Friday at a time”; “Faith groups come together in Youngstown to ‘Stop the Violence’”; “Democrats abandon the blue-collar worker in favor of ‘social justice’ warriors” and “Mike Rowe is on a mission to reverse the ‘unspeakable stupidity’ of devaluing work.” ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism: Peter Schweizer Anyone who watches the Fox News Channel or Newsmax knows Peter Schweizer as the go-to expert on all things China, particularly of late, the Chinese payment scandals involving Joe and Hunter Biden. But he’s first and foremost a driven investigative book author, uncovering topics ignored by the liberal media. An impressive eight of his books have made it onto the New York Times’ best-seller list. He hit #1 earlier this year with his latest, ‘Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans.’ Previous ground-breaking books include 2022’s ‘Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win’; in 2018, ‘Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends’; and in 2015, ‘Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.’   An earlier book, ‘Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison,’ was so compelling that even the liberals at CBS’s 60 Minutes considered it worth featuring on their program. He conducts his investigative journalism through the Florida-based Government Accountability Institute, which he founded in 2012 “to investigate and expose crony capitalism, misuse of taxpayer monies, and other governmental corruption or malfeasance.” ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Blogger: Kassy Akiva A reporter and video journalist for The Daily Wire since October of 2023 after serving as a digital journalist for FoxNews.com, Kassy Akiva is a dedicated chronicler of the excesses of the left. Since October 7 and the start of the Israel/Hamas War, Akiva has been a force in covering the anti-Semitism festering on college campuses across the country. Since she calls Boston home, she has been able to shine a spotlight on the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred at Harvard in particular which contributed to national pressure on the university’s president, Claudine Gay, to resign. (“‘Can’t Fool Me’: Arab-Speaking Israeli Slams Rashida Tlaib For Lie About ‘From the River To The Sea’ Chant” and “‘Harvard Does Not Have Our Back’: Rabbi Slams University At Hanukkah Event Attended By Claudine Gay”). Akiva’s fearless reporting on the war even took her halfway around the world to the combat zone itself. While in Israel, she visited the Kfar Aza kibbutz to witness firsthand the carnage and evil Hamas terrorists unleashed on Israeli civilians. She also scored an exclusive with a Thai man who survived Hamas’s attack and who was able to identify his captured roommate on surveillance video from the Al Shifa hospital. (“EXCLUSIVE: Survivor of Hamas Attack Identifies Hostage From Al Shifa Hospital Footage As His Roommate”). She got the journalism itch earlier, taking the initiative, while still in college, to create the Lone Conservative, a blog to empower conservative students outnumbered on leftist campuses.   ♦ 2024 MRC Bulldog Award for Outstanding Radio Talk Show Host: Dennis Prager Radio talk show host, podcaster, author, columnist and business pioneer, Dennis Prager’s work ethic is the envy of many. Prager got his start in radio in 1982 at KABC in Los Angeles. He’s had a national show on the Salem Radio network since 2009 and now can also be watched via a simulcast on the Salem News Channel video streaming service. His noontime ET national radio show delivers sober takes on the news of the day, which Prager uses to launch deeper expositions on the conservative principles that inform his political stands based on ethical monotheism. He’s genuinely interested in the perspectives of his callers, engaging them in informative exchanges. Beyond radio, in 2009 he founded Prager University (PragerU), “the most viewed conservative video site in the world, with one billion views a year, more than half by people under the age of 35.” PragerU’s videos, with “the best ideas from the best minds distilled into five focused minutes,” extend the reach of conservative values to new audiences, particularly inquisitive high school and college-age students.   2024 Pulitzer Prizes. As noted above, the biggest journalism awards were announced on May 6. Inevitably, they honored journalists who pushed liberal agenda topics. Examples: > The New Yorker earned the “explanatory reporting” Pulitzer for “a searing indictment of our legal system’s reliance on the felony murder charge and its disparate consequences, often devastating for communities of color.” > The Washington Post won in “national reporting” for “its sobering examination of the AR 15 semiautomatic rifle which forced readers to reckon with the horrors wrought by the weapon often used for mass shootings.” > ProPublica was awarded the “public service” prize for trying to discredit conservative Supreme Court justices, particularly Clarence Thomas. The friendly framing from the Pulitzer board praised the “groundbreaking and ambitious reporting that pierced the thick wall of secrecy surrounding the Supreme Court to reveal how a small group of politically influential billionaires wooed justices with lavish gifts and travel.” > 2023 MRC Bulldog Award winners > 2023 MRC Bulldog Award for Lifetime Achievement: Brit Hume > 2022 MRC Bulldog Award winners > 2022 MRC Bulldog Award for Lifetime Achievement: Cal Thomas