Rachel Maddow was honored last week with a 2025 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, presented biennially by the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center. The award recognized her MSNBC show episode "Everyone, Everywhere, All at Once," which covered nationwide "Hands Off" anti-Trump protests in early 2025, praised for vivid storytelling and highlighting grassroots resistance amid concerns over democratic institutions.
Other honorees included Jon Stewart (in a new comedic commentary category), Scott Pelley, Peter Alexander, and Julio Vaqueiro. Organizers framed the awards as celebrating journalism's role as a "firewall" against disinformation and abuse of power.In her acceptance speech at the National Press Club, Maddow called the protest movement the "most important story in the world" and "the story of our age," emphasizing public response over Washington-focused reporting. She urged focusing on people's reactions to power, not just those in authority.
This week on an episode of his Fox News show Gutfeld!, host Greg Gutfeld sharply criticized Maddow and the award.
🔥 Fox’s @GregGutfeld CALLS OUT Rachel Maddow after she wins Walter Cronkite Award for ‘excellence in political journalism’
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) December 17, 2025
“Maddow is not paid to be right. She is paid to keep a dwindling audience from giving up altogether. She sells a drug to a shrinking mass. But along the… pic.twitter.com/vlJU3n3KW7
He mocked her speech for framing opposition to Trump as the era's defining narrative, arguing she prioritizes keeping her audience engaged over accuracy.
Gutfeld described her as selling a "drug" to a shrinking viewership, getting "hooked on the fumes" herself, and breaking no real stories—only "her brain and those of others."
He contrasted left-leaning media accountability (rewarded for loyalty) with supposed rigor elsewhere, saying she insulated rather than questioned power. Clips of his monologue circulated widely on social media, amplifying conservative mockery of the award as out of touch with Walter Cronkite's legacy of straight reporting.