2005 Mikey

Well, it's not the Smacky, but Nick Pistof has won the next best thing, the 2005 Mikey, an award given for the fearless pursuit of self-promotion at the expense of the truth:

Atlantic Media today announced the NYT's Nicholas Kristof as the 2005 winner of its Mike Kelly Award. The award is given in honor of the late Atlantic editor who died covering the Iraq War in 2003.

The $25,000 award, given for the second time this year, is given annually to a journalist whose "work exemplifies a quality that animated Michael Kelly's own career: the fearless pursuit and expression of truth."

"Kristof linked the word 'genocide' to the ongoing persecution of black Africans in the Sudanese region of Darfur, and focused attention on the continued sexual exploitation of young women in the brothels of Cambodia. With conviction, passion, and audacity, Kristof tugged at the world's conscience, in the best tradition of Michael Kelly," the judges wrote.

Michael Kelly did a lot of tugging in print, but it wasn't the world's conscience being tugged.

Kristof's fearless labeling is a little less impressive when you consider that the U.S. House of Representatives labeled the killing in Sudan genocide almost a year ago, as did countless others. And it's worth questioning whether St. Kelly would approve the use of the word "genocide," when he has self-righteously railed against consideration of a criminal's racist motivation in assessing guilt for his or her crimes.

As for Pistof's adventures in the sex trade, I've already written about that combination of egomania, grandstanding and dishonest liberal bashing here, here and here. Looks like Pistof's investment in human flesh has paid off handsomely. Where else could you turn $353 of someone else's money and the misery of others into $25,000?