Ann Coulter wins columnist 'award' last given to writer

RAW STORYPublished: Wednesday July 5, 2006

Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter was awarded the 'Sitting Duck Award' by the National Society of Newspaper columnists, who met in Boston this past weekend, Editor and Publisher reports.

The award, typically doled out in an ironic fashion, came with a statement from the society that Coulter received the prize "for cheapening political discourse in America."

"We award the Lame Duck reluctantly, because we know Ms. Coulter is desperate for any kind of attention," the society added.

According to a celebrity newsgroup, "Ann Coulter was mentioned and criticized several times by speakers at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) conference here. Then she received the NSNC's ultimate mention and criticism -- winning the annual Sitting Duck Award for easiest column target."

The award last year went to Detroit columnist Mitch Albom and Sacramento Bee columnist Diane Erwin. Erwin was fired and later excoriated by her paper for fabricating 30 people in 27 columns. Investigators, randomly sampling pieces from Erwin's ten-year career, could not account for 13 people in an additional ten columns.

Editor and Publisher: "The humorous award is given annually to a celebrity who makes obvious fodder for columnists with writer’s block — Michael Jackson and Saddam Hussein were among the nominees — but the society found that the best column fodder came from its own ranks."
These columnists made it easier for other columnists to write something on a slow news day, the society's Vice President told E&P.

“We didn’t have to make something up, because they already did it for us,” NSNC vice president and York (Pa.) Daily Record columnist said.

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