Walter Duranty Prize

Did you know there was a new prize for Journalism, the Walter Duranty Prize?  Neither did I.  It is named after a long forgotten reporter for The New York Times, Walter Duranty.

PJ Media and The New Criterion are now accepting nominations for what our readers consider the most egregious example of dishonest reporting for the fiscal year 2011-2012 (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012).

This prize is named after Walter Duranty, the New York Times Moscow correspondent in the 1920s and 1930s who whitewashed Joseph Stalin’s forced starvation of the Ukrainians (the Holodomor) and many other aspects of Soviet oppression.  Duranty was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for his efforts.

I think it is fitting.

You can submit your nomination here.

Yes, I see no reason to not include local media, from Lowell Blogs, to City Life, to WCAP, to the Valley Patriot, to The Sun.  I guess you could throw in the Boston Media as well.

For those who question this whole enterprise, I note that one of the judges has my first name and my cousin's last name.  I don't think you could find a better indication of integrity than that.

Regards  —  Cliff

PS:  No, Walter Duranty was not the person who coined the phrase "I have seen the future and it works".  That was Lincoln Steffens.