Fox News host Sean Hannity will no longer receive the Media Research Center’s William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Media Excellence at the group’s September gala.
Sources familiar with the situation said it is because Buckley’s son, Christopher Buckley, was unhappy with the decision and expressed his views to MRC head Brent Bozell, who is also Buckley’s nephew.
But Hannity and the MRC are claiming it’s a “scheduling conflict.”Hannity’s name has been removed from the event’s website.
“It’s a coverup,” a source in conservative media familiar with the situation told POLITICO. Buckley declined to comment.
Sources close to Hannity said he “had to decline” the award because he couldn’t attend the gala, and that it wouldn’t be “fair” to the conservative media watchdog organization if he couldn’t make it to the event. A spokesperson for the MRC, Ryan Moy, also said the schedules did not align. A Fox News spokesperson said Hannity couldn’t attend because of scheduling problems and that he “apologized that he was unable to attend the event, which is their big annual fundraiser.”
CNN first reported that Buckley was unhappy with Hannity receiving the award, and that the scheduling reason was “concocted” as an excuse.
Hannity responded on Twitter on Friday, saying “If [National Review] ‘Never Trumpers’ or WFB’s son were upset about me receiving the award,…
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