I've not read the official obituaries because they are predictable. "Billionaire." "Reclusive." "GOP donor." "Swift Boat Vets." "Industrialist." "Controversial." "Dallas, Texas." And there you have it: the death of a sinister figure driven by greed, the puppeteer manipulating the political process, a 21st century J.R. Ewing. (Or is it Mr. Burns?) If this is what you've read, it’s written by someone who didn't know Harold Clark Simmons.

I never knew a man quite like Harold Simmons.

On Wednesday, the Media Research Center released a new analysis demonstrating that Utah’s largest newspapers leveled a deliberate, relentlessly hostile attack on Sen. Mike Lee for his anti-ObamaCare stance before, during, and after the government shutdown that began in October.

MRC’s Rich Noyes wrote that by a staggering margin of 33-to-1, editorial opinion at Utah’s two largest newspapers – the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News – was harshly against the strategy of linking ObamaCare’s fate to the shutdown. Coverage in the news pages was scarcely more balanced, with 32 news stories tilting against the conservative strategy versus just three in favor. MRC president Brent Bozell insisted that these two newspapers owe Sen. Lee a sincere apology after the Obamacare rollout fiasco:

While the media are busy painting Republicans -- particularly Tea Party-friendly conservatives in the House -- as the legislators who are ultimately responsible for the government shutdown, they are failing to note that "[t]he Democrats and the president have offered nothing" as a counteroffer on the continuing resolution to fund the government, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted on the October 3 edition of Hannity.

The Media Research Center founder argued that it's the same biased narrative with the liberal media as the last government shutdown in 1995, when Bill Clinton vetoed funding bills that had passed both houses of Congress. In this instance, it's a Democratic Senate refusing to sit down with a Republican House to hammer out a deal. "In the media coverage, 21 stories blaming Republicans, not one story blaming Democrats. And you know what's more interesting? You go back to 1995 and you will find the same networks, 23 times they blamed the Republicans. Not once did they blame the Democrats," Bozell noted. [listen to the MP3 audio here; watch the full "Media Mash" segment below the page break]

While he faced stiff competition, you just knew he was a shoo-in to win this. A packed ballroom of Media Research Center 2013 Gala attendees chose MSNBC's Chris Matthews as the winner of the 2013 Puppy Love Award, beating out ABC's Diane Sawyer and CNN's Piers Morgan. Matthews won this DisHonor Award for his June 5, 2013 pronouncement that President Obama was "clean as a whistle" and that Republicans were motivated by "ethnic" and racial animus rather than sincere disagreements over policy.

"My legs are tingling, both of them," Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint quipped as he accepted the award in Matthews's understandable absence. "I've been dishonored all over Washington, but this is the most dishonorable I've ever been," he added, going on to thank the Media Research Center for its vital role in the conservative movement. For the full video of the Puppy Love Award segment, click play on the video embedded below the page break. To watch all three nominees, click here.

USA Today’s website today has a list of “5 must-read books about the Obama-Romney race,” and as you might expect, there are four books by liberal political reporters: “Collision 2012" by Dan Balz, “The Message” by Richard Wolffe, “The Center Holds” by Jonathan Alter, and “Double Down” by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (due out in November).

But there’s a dash of balance: “Collusion” by L. Brent Bozell and Tim Graham, “A conservative perspective on the media's election impact.” Kristen Mascia explained the choice: