When conservatives hear the term “independent political journalism,” they might think of people who are politically independent between the parties, or unaffiliated with establishment media outlets. But to liberals, “independent journalism” seems to be defined as “reliably anti-Trump/anti-Republican.”The Poynter Institute’s latest event for its supporters is a “salon” in Kansas City in October where they will honor former NBC host Chuck Todd with the “2026 Poynter Make a Mark Leadership Award, recognizing his decades-long impact on political journalism and his role as one of the country’s leading independent voices covering politics, democracy and public affairs.”Since leaving NBC, you could argue Todd is now “independent,” but his entire history at NBC underlined he was reliably Democratic in orientation, including a dinner party honoring a top Hillary Clinton adviser in 2015 at his home with his wife Kristian Denny Todd, a Democratic direct-mail fundraising specialist. It was one of several conflicts of interest with the couple.Poynter announced that at this "salon," Todd and Poynter official Neil Brown will discuss “the future of political journalism, rebuilding public trust in news, the rise of independent media and what it takes for journalism to remain relevant in an increasingly fragmented and polarized information environment.” Liberals are always upset that conservative media has “fragmented and polarized” their attempt to dominate the media space. Then Poynter points out that they’re also handing out their “Make a Mark” award to two other Democrat hacks in the media: “Sarah Longwell, CEO and Publisher of The Bulwark, and Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, will also receive the award during Poynter’s Sept. 9 Salon Series event in New York City.”The Atlantic and The Bulwark are Poynter’s favorite snark to “make a mark.” The Poynter Institute is the parent organization of the deeply biased website PolitiFact, which calls itself "independent." Naturally, Chuck Todd has a glowing rating at PolitiFact, with seven "True" or "Mostly True" ratings, and one solitary "False."