Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Mollie Hemingway, Cal Thomas, Brigitte Gabriel, Joe Piscopo, Chris Plante, Congressman Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Lord joined MRC President Brent Bozell in highlighting the Media Research Center’s “30th Anniversary Gala featuring the 2017 DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting.” The event was held on Thursday night, September 21, before an audience of nearly 900 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Following the first two awards, nationally syndicated talk radio host and author Mark Levin addressed the audience, via video, to celebrate the MRC’s 30th anniversary. He declared that only the MRC “has the know-how, the resources and the dedication” to track liberal bias 24/7. Levin also trumpeted: “MRC and Brent Bozell are national treasures.”

Later in the evening, legendary radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh recalled how he first heard of the MRC when he saw Bozell quoted in National Review. Limbaugh also explained his success in radio, noting how both he and Donald Trump built a “bond” with their audiences, before warning of the threat posed by leftists who want to silence conservatives.

In addition to the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos in four categories and a look at some “funny clips,” the audience decided the Trumpocalypse compilation earned the Quote of the Year dishonor. MRC President Brent Bozell asked the audience to show their derision, via jeers and noisemakers, of quotes from Douglas Brinkley, Brian Williams and the “Trumpocalypse Award,” (given to “Every Single Person We Don’t Like in the Liberal Media”), each of whom had won a news category earlier in the program. The audience’s pick was assessed by Bozell and the presenters and accepters brought on stage to judge the audience’s preference.

The four DisHonors Awards category winners were determined by the audience. After watching three or four nominated quotes, attendees at each of the 90 tables discussed the quotes and then, by electronic device, the table captain cast the choice on behalf of the table.

The nominated quotes were narrowed beforehand to three or four in each category by a distinguished panel of ten leading media observers, including Monica Crowley, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin, David Limbaugh, Stephen Hayes, Walter E. Williams and Erick Erickson (List of judges).

Cal Thomas, an author, TV commentator and nationally syndicated columnist, served as Master of Ceremonies. Chris Plante, host of a nationally-syndicated talk show from Washington DC’s WMAL Radio, presented the first two award categories before Mollie Hemingway, a Fox News contributor and Senior Editor at The Federalist, handled the third and fourth awards. The evening’s program concluded with veteran comedian, actor and talk show host Joe Piscopo cuing up “The Funnies.”

In place of the journalist who won each award, a conservative accepted it in jest. Those standing in for the winners: Greg Mueller, President of Creative Response Concepts; Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT for America; Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) Chairman of the House’s Freedom Caucus; and Jeffrey Lord, a former commentator for CNN and a blogger for the American Spectator and NewsBusters.

Interspersed through the evening, attendees heard kudos on video, for the MRC’s 30th anniversary, from a range of leading conservative figures; Melissa Emery, Chairman of the MRC’s Board of Trustees, recognized the MRC’s longest-giving donors; MRC President Brent Bozell presented Karl Ottosen, Chairman of the MRC’s Board of Directors, with a gift of appreciation; and attendees watched a video tribute to journalists who covered Hurricane Harvey.

The evening began with an invocation by Father Robert Rippy and former Marine Tim Davis, an MRC supporter and Vietnam War veteran, led the Pledge of Allegiance. Following the funny clips, Bozell offered closing remarks.

For more on the evening, check the posts on our NewsBusters blog.