Sean Hannity Will Not Receive the William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence

CNN has reported that Fox News anchor Sean Hannity will no longer receive the William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence.

Sources tell CNN that Buckley's son, best-selling author, Christopher Buckley "expressed great dismay" at the decision to give the award to Hannity, Following Buckey's disapproval and some outcry from conservatives the Media Research Center agreed to pull the honor. Hannity's information no longer appears on the gala website.

William F. Buckley was the founder of the National Review. The journalist is revered by many as "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States."

Though representatives for Fox and the MRC cited scheduling conflicts as the reason for Hannity's departure, sources also claim that MRC leadership discussed methods of revealing the change which would allow Hannity to save face.

CNN reports that a source close to Christopher Buckley quoted the author as saying "perhaps Mr. Hannity has been offered the Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Award on the same evening and had decided to leverage upwards."