JUNEAU, Alaska - The National Society of Newspaper Columnists chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the winner of its annual Sitting Duck Award, a tongue-in-cheek honor that pokes fun at the most ridiculed newsmakers in the United States.

Palin beat out Democrat Rod Blagojevich, the ousted former governor of Illinois allegedly caught trying to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat.

Blagojevich was the runner-up. Palin was noted for making headline after headline, month after month.

The selection was made last week at a conference in Ventura, Calif.

There's no physical award to go with the Sitting Duck title.