The 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism will be handed out tomorrow, and as expected there will be absolutely zero self-awareness in the room.
One of the people getting a Cronkite Award for truth in dogged journalism is the same person who pushed "Russia collusion" as inspired by Dan Rather pushing his notorious BS shortly before the 2000 election:
Rachel Maddow was asked by Vanity Fair to reflect on her coverage of the Steele Dossier and the Russia Hoax.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 8, 2022
She cites *checks notes* Dan Rather's George W. Bush debacle to justify it before basically admitting it was false. pic.twitter.com/ADcVgadCRJ
That's enough to earn some accolades from the usual suspects in the field of journalism:
Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow Among 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism Honorees https://t.co/b8JZF2R5Pg
— Variety (@Variety) December 10, 2025
Because when you hear "truthful reporting" your mind immediately thinks "Rachel Maddow," right? Well, maybe not:
Jon Stewart will be honored with the first-ever honor in the new comedic news and commentary category at this year’s Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism, the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center announced Wednesday. The event, which takes place on Dec. 12 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., will also recognize Rachel Maddow (“The Rachel Maddow Show”), Scott Pelley (“60 Minutes”), Peter Alexander (NBC News), Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo) and others.
“The message sent by honoring these winners is that the press isn’t ‘the enemy of the people’ – it’s the firewall between the public and disinformation, abuse of power and corruption,” said USC Annenberg professor Martin Kaplan, who founded the school’s Norman Lear Center (which administers the award).
The Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism were established in 2001 and are presented biennially by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Honorees come from “outstanding political journalism on television and digital media that meets the highest standards of reporting and analysis,” the org said.
The fact that these people think that the actual misinformation is the truth and truth is misinformation speaks volumes to why "journalism" has gone completely down the crapper.
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USC's Annenberg School of Journalism just, seriously, gave the Walter Cronkite Political Journalism Award to Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow. Next week: Tufts Fletcher School of Diplomacy will give a World Leader Award to Sacha Baron Cohen as leader of the Republic of Wadiya...
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 10, 2025
The perfect example of why the profession is dying
— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) December 10, 2025
Maddow pushed "Russia collusion" and the Steele dossier repeatedly, and told massive lies during COVID, so of course she's being recognized as a "firewall between the public and misinformation." You can't make this stuff up, because unfortunately you don't have to.
