Olbermann awards two "Worst Person in the World" honors to Fox, one to recent CNN hire Glenn Beck

Summary: On the February 9 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, Keith Olbermann honored Fox News and CNN with "Worst Person in the World" awards; Fox News took both the bronze and gold medals and CNN, the silver, all based on Media Matters for America items.

On the February 9 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann honored Fox News and recent CNN hire Glenn Beck with "Worst Person in the World" awards with Fox News receiving the bronze and gold medals and Beck taking home the silver. Fox News earned the bronze for playing footage from the 1996 film Independence Day (Twentieth Century Fox) during its coverage of President Bush's announcement that a terrorist plot against Los Angeles' U.S. Bank Tower had been foiled, and was awarded the gold for playing an edited clip of civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery's remarks during Coretta Scott King's funeral, during which he mentioned the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Fox cut out the majority of the 23-second applause and standing ovation, which prompted Roll Call executive editor Morton M. Kondracke to observe, after viewing the clip, that the audience at the funeral did not go "wild" over Lowery's remarks. Olbermann honored Beck for comments Beck made on his nationally syndicated radio show about former President Jimmy Carter's remarks at the King funeral. Beck asked: "Is there is a bigger waste of skin than Jimmy Carter?" The three events had been documented by Media Matters for America.

From the February 9 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: That's next, but first on for Countdown's list of today's three nominees for "Worst Person in the World."

Bronze tonight, Fox News Channel. This morning, after the president's tale about breaking up a terror plot to destroy the Library Tower in L.A., Fox illustrated its coverage by showing clips from the 1996 movie, Independence Day, which simulated the destruction of the Library Tower by intergalactic aliens. Look, if you're going to whore out your channel to scare people on the president's behalf, at least save the Independence Day clips for when he claims he's only been eavesdropping on terrorist calls from outer space.

Tonight's runner up: this yutz, Glenn Beck, again. After former President Carter's eulogy at the Coretta Scott King funeral, Beck announced on his radio show, quote, "Is there a bigger waste of skin than Jimmy Carter?" unquote. Beck is the guy to whom CNN just gave a TV show claiming he'll conduct a "conversation, not a confrontation." Punt. Punt now.

But the winners: back to the other guys. At Mrs. King's funeral, after Reverend Lowery made his remarks that "we now know there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," those in attendance gave him a 23-second standing ovation. When Fox News Channel ran the tape of Lowery's remark, it cut the applause to nine seconds, and then Fox commentator Morton Kondracke came on and said: "The crowd did not go as wild as you -- as it sounded as though it did at the time and as various people have represented." He was surprised there was not more applause after they edited out the applause. Come on! It's journalism. Look it up in a dictionary. Fox News Channel: today's worst persons in the world.

—S.G.