Staff Reports
The Pulitzer Prize, which is often talked about as a prestigious journalism prize, fails to impress once again by recognizing less-than-deserving greatness. Our conservative news writer, Brad Slager, looks at some recent winners in different categories in a snarky and critical way.
Pull out the Popcorn, Musk Sues Twitter's Former Law Firm Which Billed (and Got) 90 Million Dollars Hours Before the Takeover https://t.co/0w1pLqG1PB
— RedState (@RedState) July 10, 2023
First up is MSNBC's Jen Psaki, who seems to have taken a page from Rachel Maddow's book when it comes to making wild, untrue claims about Republicans. Psaki's take on the situation is that Republicans are dividing the country by using Muslims, even though some Muslim groups have spoken out against school boards bringing trans-activism into schools. Psaki says that the only reason anyone would be against trans goals is because of how intolerant the GOP is. Brad Slager thinks this line of thought is wrong in a lot of ways, and he questions how well Psaki understands the real world.
Mark Tutton from CNN is next on the list. He seems to love climate news. CNN has a great idea for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry: yachts. You did read that correctly. CNN wants to put kites and other things that are good for the environment on cargo ships to cut their carbon emissions by 20% on average. Even though this may seem like a good idea, it won't make much of a difference because the shipping business is only responsible for 3% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Brad Slager praises CNN's innovative answer in a mocking way.
In the next category, "Distinguished Public Service," the prize goes to Michael D. Shear and David McCabe of the New York Times for their boring story about Missouri vs. Joe Biden. The court decided that the government can't control what people say on social media sites, which the Times thinks is wrong. They say that the government should be able to limit free speech in order to stop spreading false information, but they easily forget that they are the ones sharing false information. Brad Slager shows that the Times' view is hypocritical and makes no sense.
In the Distinguished Political Cartoons category, Scott Anderson from Mother Jones wins with his cartoon of Ron DeSantis as an alligator. Even though it was meant to be a bad description, Brad Slager likes the idea that DeSantis is the top hunter in the Washington swamp. This is similar to the way many conservatives feel about DeSantis, who they see as a strong leader.
Betsy Reed of The Guardian wins the Distinguished Editorial Writing award for her harsh words about El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Reed says that Bukele's plans to stop gang violence and drug groups are wrong and will make the country's problems worse. But she ignores the fact that Bukele's efforts have led to a drop in murders of more than 90% and have gotten a lot of support from the people. Brad Slager says that The Guardian's view of the situation is unfair.
And finally, in a category that could only exist in our strange times, CNN Politics wins for their coverage of frozen treats, with a focus on the "Joe Biden Cup." It seems that the fact that President Trump went to a Dairy Queen and had trouble getting a Blizzard made the news. Democrats didn't waste any time saying that President Softserve knows exactly what a Blizzard is. They used this seemingly small event to show that he is qualified to be president. Brad Slager can't help but say something about how crazy everything is.
In the end, the picks for the Pulitzer Prize in news continue to be disappointing. The stories that these winners tell, which are often skewed and don't make sense, only serve to further split the country. Our conservative news writer, Brad Slager, gives his clever and satirical take on these iffy award winners, pointing out the problems with journalism.
