Does any other profession have as many awards as journalism? I am not certain if anyone has ever compared the number of awards in various fields, but journalism surely ranks near the top of all realms of human endeavor in the number of "prestigious" awards handed out.

Awards were recently presented for coverage of the United Nations. You remember, the same United Nations which is currently being rocked by the largest financial scandal in world history. One journalist in particular, Claudia Rosett, has scooped the entire world press over and over again, revealing sordid details implicating important people in massive bribery by one of the most brutal tyrants in history. All implicated in a program run by the United Nations. Surely, the biggest story of the year, no?

But because journalism awards these days are almost completely dominated by the left, Ms. Rosett is not among those receiving these awards. One might imagine that Kofi Annan, who handed out the awards, might be reluctant to honor her. His son is deeply implicated, and so is he.

Which raises the very basic question: what kind of awards would be handed out by the the head of the target being covered by the awards? The kindest adjective which comes to mind is "junk."

Thomas Lifson   12 06 05