Media Matters for America
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Image:Mediamatters.png Template:Journalism Media Matters for America is a non-profit organization founded by former journalist David Brock. Media Matters scrutinizes news reporting and political commentary that it perceives to have a conservative bias. Conservative commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, David Horowitz and Bill O'Reilly are often targets, but sloppy or uncritical reporting from news outlets and personalities not traditionally thought of as conservative are also scrutinized. Through the group's web site, launched in May 2004, Media Matters describes itself as "a Web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Conservative misinformation is defined as news or commentary presented in the media that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda." Template:Ref
The New York Times reported that Media Matters has received "more than $2 million in donations from wealthy liberals" and "was developed with help from the newly formed Center for American Progress".
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Work
Media Matters for America uses a variety of techniques to demonstrate how they believe information is manipulated by right-wing media figures. Employing methods such as content analysis, fact checking, monitoring, and comparison of quotes or presentations from media figures to primary documents such as Pentagon or Government Accountability Office reports, MMfA provides daily analysis and more comprehensive overviews to its readers. Founder David Brock also appears before Congressional committees and forums where matters of these concerns have been under discussion by the body.
Media Matters is credited with be the leading voice of criticism against conservative columnist Ben Domenech within days of being hired for the Washington Post online webblog, criticism which led to the Post's firing of him in literally no more than a week after Media Matters uncovered clear evidence of plagarism by Domenech in multiple instances, and reported that Domenech referred to former civil rights leader Coretta Scott King as a "communist".
Examples
Presentation of a full example of a typical Media Matters analysis is beyond the scope of this article, but some brief examples are offered. External links will guide you to the original analysis documents on the organization's website.
- Guantanamo "Media Matters for America documents below, conservative media figures have often attempted to downplay the severity of the alleged abuses at Guantánamo, dismiss every detainee as a terrorist unprotected by international law, and distort criticism of the Bush administration's detention policy." Template:Ref
- Rush Limbaugh "Limbaugh again falsely accused Democratic US Senator Harkin of 'trying to get my program taken off' American Forces Radio; falsely claimed National Public Radio balances him out." Template:Ref