The 2009 Fabulous 50 Blog Awards

We're kicking off the year with our first annual Fabulous Fifty Blog Awards, which recognizes the best of the new mainstream media. Without further ado, may I have the envelopes, please?

• The 'Book 'em, Danno' Award for Best Investigative Journalist goes to: Michelle Malkin.

• The 'Buh-Bye Gray Lady' Award for Best New Journalism Website goes to: Big Government.

• The 'Town Crier' Award for Superior News Gathering goes to Drudge Report.

• The 'Look Out Above!' Award for Best Up-and-Coming Mainstream Journalist goes to Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit.

• The Novak Award for Best Political Blogging goes to: The Corner.

• The 'Warp Speed' Award for Best Instant Analysis goes to Ed Morrissey of Hot Air.

• The 'Best Twitterer even before there was a Twitter' Award goes to: InstaPundit.

• The 'Thought-Leader' Award for Best Op-Ed Blog goes to: American Thinker.

• The 'Edward R. Murrow' Award for Best Mediawatching goes to: NewsBusters.

• The 'Murrow R. Edward' Award for Best Faux Mediawatching goes to: Media Matters.

• The 'Shining City on the Hill' Award for Best Speechwriter goes to: Doctor Zero.

• The 'Shake your Moneymaker' Award for Entrepreneurship goes to: John Hawkins.

• The 'WTF, ROTFLMAO' Award for Snark-laced Political Humor goes to: Ace of Spades.

• The 'Damn the Firewalls, Full Speed Ahead' Award for Best Information Warfare Campaign goes to The Jawa Report.

• The 'Glutes of Steel' Award for Mocking Andrew Sullivan goes to: IowaHawk.

• The 'YouTube This!' Award for Best Video Blogging goes to: Pajamas TV.

• The 'Media B***hslap' Award goes to Patterico's Pontifications.

• The 'We Really All Can Get Along' Award for Best Group Blogging goes to Power Line.

• The 'Can't Help But Laugh' Award for 'Progressive' Humor goes to Sadly, No!.

• The 'Linus Torvalds' Award for Best Custom Blogging Software goes to Charles Johnson of LGF.

• The 'Jim Rice' Award given to Most Promising New Investigative Journalist goes to Verum Serum.

• The 'Woman on a Mission' Award goes to Pamela Geller.

• The 'It's Awfully Hot Here In This Sauna' Award for Debunking the Religion of Warming goes to Watts Up With That.

• The 'If the Glove Don't Fit' Award for Best Legal Commentary goes to The Volokh Conspiracy.

• The 'Ernie Pyle' Award for Best War Correspondent goes to Michael Yon.

• The 'Jack-of-all-Insults' Award for Most Versatile Snarker goes to Jammie Wearing Fool.

• The 'TEABAGGERS vs. FISTERS: The Debate Is Over' Award for Funniest Headlines goes to People's Cube.

• The 'Gettin' Your Photoshop Freak On' Award for Illustration goes to: iOwnTheWorld.

• The 'We Don't Even Pretend to Play Nice' Award for openly plotting to overthrow the U.S. government goes to Hizb ut-Tahrir America.

• The 'Nine-Hour Nostradamus' Award for consistently being ahead of the story goes to: The Astute Bloggers.

• The 'Longshoreman' Award for Funniest Use of Cursewords goes to: DoublePlusUndead.

• The 'Imelda Obama' Award goes to Michelle's Mirror.

• The 'Bolton' Award for Best Middle East Analysis goes to Barry Rubin.

• The 'Speaking Truth to Power' Award for Best Middle East Reporting goes to MEMRI Blog.

• The 'Down, Boy!' Award for censoring its readers' vicious comments goes to The Huffington Post.

• The 'Pink Underwear' Award for Best Coverage of a Perverted Newsman goes to Olbermann Watch.

• The 'Salvador Dali' Award for Most Creative Blogging goes to SondraK.

• The 'Blog-Ring' Award for Best Group of Affiliated Blogs goes to The Watcher's Council:

  • Watcher of Weasels
  • The Glittering Eye
  • Rhymes With Right
  • J O S H U A P U N D I T
  • Soccer Dad
  • The COLOSSUS OF RHODEY
  • Bookworm Room
  • Wolf Howling
  • The Razor
  • The Provocateur
  • Mere Rhetoric
  • Right Truth
  • AMERICAN DIGEST

Congratulations to our winners and, as always, thank you for all you do -- and best wishes to you and all seven of our readers for a happy and healthy 2010!