New Details in Media Matters Investigation: Organization Allegedly Hired Private Investigators to Monitor Targets
- Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:24pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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The Daily Caller investigative report on Media Matters for America looks to be a major ongoing story throughout the week. An original report released Sunday alleges that the controversial organization is helmed by paranoid, illegal drug-users, and has been in direct and influential contact with the White House communications team and several major left-wing media outlets. The piece cites unnamed former staffers and individual sources with knowledge of the progressive watchdog’s inner-workings. Late Monday, The DC released their next installment, which cites emails between top Media Matters bosses discussing the launch of a “Fox Fund” with the mission to attack the Fox News Channel as the new primary target for the progressive movement since George W. Bush’s exit.
“We must take Fox News head-on in a well funded, presidential-style campaign to discredit and embarrass the network, making it illegitimate in the eyes of news consumers,” Karl Frisch said in a 2008 email to other top Media Matters employees. The DC reports that Frisch went on to write:
“We should hire private investigators to look into the personal lives of Fox News anchors, hosts, reporters, prominent contributors, senior network and corporate staff.”
The vehement below-the-belt attack is particularly stunning considering that Media Matters for America is a tax-exempt organization. The DC reports Frisch went on to call for “an elaborate shareholder campaign” against News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News: “This can take many forms, from a front group of shareholders, to passing resolutions at shareholder meetings or massive demonstrations are [sic] shareholder meetings.”
A self-admitted liberal Harvard professor told the DC that the story could be the possible tip of the ice burg to a larger scandal that has potential to derail the once highly-regarded Obama reelection campaign:
“’Well I think if swing voters in the pro-Israel community had any idea how extreme Media Matters was on issues of Israel and supporters of Israel, they would regard Media Matters as another, you know, Rev. Wright,’ Dershowitz told The Daily Caller.
‘And for many, many in the pro-Israel community, it would be a game changer.’
Dershowitz went so far as to suggest that Media Matters’s rhetoric on Israel, particularly from Media Matters Action Network senior fellow M.J. Rosenberg, is similar to what one would find on a neo-Nazi website.
‘When I started reading their stuff it sounded like the kind of stuff you see on neo-Nazi websites,’ Dershowitz said. ‘Or on Hezbollah-supporter websites. It is so extremist. The thing that shocked me is that anybody regarded it as mainstream.’”
Alan Dershowitz is a law professor at Harvard. Rev. Wright refers to the scandal surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, where Barack Obama used to attend services. Past sermons and speeches by Rev. Wright containing anti-American and anti-Semitic sentiments were brought to light during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Tucker Carlson appeared on Fox News Monday to discuss the report Monday:
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lylejk
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 10:08pmI hesitated before posting my response here and that very hessitation woke me up to see that government no longer fears the people that voted them in meaning our Republic is all but gone and the Constitution no longer can protect all Americans. I sure do hope I’m wrong. I refuse to continue to live in fear of repercussions from posting my free will opinions. Media Matters need to be defunded period. They are not neutral and in such, should not be granted any federal non-profit status if they continue to be the stooges of any individual or government entity and that is exactly what Media Matters is. This story, if proven true (and my gut says it is) is beyond outradgeous. This is not a simple undercover sting operation to put sexual deviants in jail folks. This is a direct attack against free speech itself by attempting to shut down any voice that does not agree with theirs. This madness has got to be stopped and I do hope Congress does their job for a change. I don’t know what the future has in store of me or anyone else, but it doesn’t take a soothsayer to know if we continue to allow madness to be our masters, we all will loose. If Media Madness looses non-profit status and get‘s it’s funding from private non-tax deductable donations, and, they stay within the law, then that would be their business. Right now Media Matters has an agenda and as why should my tax dollars subsidize this behavior? :)
Report Post »Nanaswords
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 7:51pmJust more proof of our current W.H. affiliations ! One is known by the friends they keep around them…and with…Garbage In/Garbage Out !!! We have to look at their Trash Daily in the MSM and watch them Feed on our Nations’ Foundation ! They best enjoy this time…and their non-profit status…it will be ALL ended in 2012 !!! It will be their hot-summer boomer-ring !!! Trash To Ashes…and progressive propaganda to the Dump!!! Do the U.N. and the E.U. want to see us “Yankees” go thru the fire…Again…just keep their eyes and ears open !!! Who …“Really”…has control of the… “Seasons” ??? Our Past History will NOT be Written Off…Or…Out !!! NO CHANGE HERE !!!
Report Post »edie1945
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 2:33pmSo, what else is new??
Report Post »bronco83
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 2:29pmBill seems scared and that makes us happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Mike N
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 12:55pmAny of the Leftists out there who deny that MM is only on a mission to discredit the right, and not to produce balanced reporting, which Fox does, should read the following job posting on their website:
Researcher
Media Matters for America — a progressive, Washington-based, nonprofit research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media — seeks a researcher to help carry out this mission as a member of its Research Department. This position is based in our Washington, D.C., office. Applicants must be prepared to relocate if not living within commuting distance of downtown D.C.
Responsibilities
Media Matters researchers are responsible not only for reading, watching, and listening to news outlets, but also for researching, analyzing, and writing about what they observe. In this rapid-response environment, the work of a researcher is likely to be published almost every day on the Media Matters website.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have at least one year of political experience and proven writing skills. The candidate should also demonstrate a breadth of knowledge about and awareness of current political and policy issues and an understanding of the problem of conservative misinformation in the media.
Media Matters is an Equal Opportunity Employer . . . NOT !!!
Report Post »lizaz
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 12:15pmMM is a slime-bag organization, built out of the gutter and catering to uninformed and uneducated trailer trash. The fact they supposedly have unfettered access to the WH, should tell you something about the WH. I hope the DC keep up their investigation and that more former MM employees come forward. This is hitler-like behavior if there ever was any!!!!! Let’s hope Fox is on guard against the inevitable lies which will be forthcoming!!!
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:16amThis sort of looks like Himmler‘s folks working for Goebbel’s folks.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:56amJohn Dean of Watergate fame was linked to a call girl ring. That was alleged by Gordon Liddy, he threatened court action & then exited stage left. John Dean went after George W. Bush with a vengeance.
Let’s investigate the left. Follow them around.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:46amruoncrack
That is why FOI request for global warming data are denied. The MSM does not investigate because they are balanced. The only way we find out is thru leaks.
That is why U3 is reported as being good news but the simple facts about how it is calculated & those stats for the numbers for that calculation are ignored.
Spare us your propaganda
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:41amHannity & Beck are already paranoid. they don;t stray. We already know everything about Rush. As long as he is married, I considered him happy & well balanced. So ling he is happily married I don’t see any dirt happening or being found.
This will only go on for so long before turnabout becomes fair play & every prominent lefty gets an a nal exam. Remember Mr Dean of water gate fame turned left. His wife worked at a whore house & Liddy said so. Every Republican who might have visiedt such an establishment has been exposed. Vitter for example. Let’s tail all the Democrats. With fewer Democrats it will make life harder for a Pelosi comeback or for Reid to stay in power. Investigate the whole Pelosi clan.
Report Post »TheePolitinator
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 3:14pmHannity and Beck are paranoid? Really? I think you have drank way too much Kool-Aid.
Report Post »KINGRUDDY
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 8:08amI will give you 3 guesses on why Glenn Beck left Fox…
Report Post »the first 2 do not count!
Media Matters is George Soros on steroids
This is so frgn CRYSTAL CLEAR, Media Matters has more influence on the President than Michelle!!!
Wake up America!!!!
dmerwin
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:17amMedia Matters IS George Soros.
Report Post »rationallyurs
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:31amthe obama hoodrat parade continues
Report Post »DeOppressoLiber
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 3:41amThis is great it shows them to be grasping at straws. Now we have to do the same to them. Their COG is their left wing bias. They have no creditability, We need to exploit this COG, to swing the independents. Fox news needs to show the links with link analysis to discredit them.
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:25amIs anyone surprised? The administraion is full of people from Chicago. Look for things to get dirtier as we get closer to the Republican convention. Then when the Republican Candidate is chosen it will be “Katie bar the door” down and dirty.
Study Obumblers campaigns in Illinois for examples of dirty politics. There will be rumors of sexual misconduct, Political bribery, They will even bring up charges of jaywalking and parking tickets if thats all they can find.
Remember it’s Chicago Style.
OMG
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:18pmThey do seem to have Fox News Derangement Syndrome (FNDS). I have never seen a non-profit waste so much effort to eliminate the No. 1 watched cable news channel. Are they jealous that there are more smart people than their stupid young people? When you slant your news to bashing one group all the time, it loses its grandeur for authenticity and accuracy. As far Media Matters, it is the Obama Soros Communist Propaganda Snooze Site or OSCPSS. They are a bunch of has-been losers that could not land a journalist job with a fake resume.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 1:35amYou are spot on COFEMALE
I just went to their site tonight for the first time to see what the fuss was about.
I could not believe how much of the space was dedicated to the destruction of FOX.
Now that I have seen it, it is obvious where so many of the trolls get their material from.
Report Post »Mil Mom
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 3:37amOne question? ” IF THEY TAKE DOWN MEDIA MATTERS, WHERE WILL WE GET OUR TROLLS?”
Report Post »Make that two! “IF TROLLS ARE LAID OFF, HOW MANY WEEKS UNEMPLOYMENT WILL THEY GET?”
RougeFastFingers
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:05pmThe thing was the brainchild and was helped to be launched by hillary Clinton, need i say more?
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 8:14amI’ve said it here on The Blaze before and will repeat it here again. Hillary Clinton scares me just as much if not more than 0bama. If you lived through the ’90s as an adult and paid attention to the Clinton administration and Hillary in general you would know her well. Her Margaret Sanger worship simply one tell. She was tied to Media Matters and Soros from the very beginning. 0bama merely stumbled into the lime light afterwards.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:19amWeren’t a large number of FBI files mostly of Republican leaders found in the basement of the White House during the Clinton years, during which time Hillary was the first lady and therefore had no official role in the government but access to those files?
Report Post »ruoncrack
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:15pmNobody said that their information wasn’t true, only that it was biases left like all the stuff here and on Fox is biased right. If you read the actual article in the Daily Caller though they did say how serious the “drug user” was about maintaining journalistic standards of truth. Something sorely missing with the right
Report Post »spmcintyre
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:37pmThis seems to be a violation of their non profit status. I kinda recall somebody in the WH saying they would hammer the nonprofit status of any church that preaches politics from the pulpit. Why is this any different?
Report Post »AmericanFightingMan1
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:58pmHa ha ha ha. Like the mob, the players in this game have no regard at all for our laws.
The Trojan horse done been emptied in our midst a long time ago. We are a battlefield in other peoples’ wars.
Ha ha ha ha. Our laws aren’t even a meaningful distraction to those who operate in our lands. Take your pick. Russian mafia. Jamaican. Islamists. Zionists. And on and on. The US is their game board.
Corporations with no loyalty. Our government bought and sold a long time ago. Poltical puppets with the appearance of power saying insincere things to the public to keep them in place.
The gig was up years ago. I think Kennedy’s assasination brought it to reality for those who were paying attention. Anyone honest who makes a real run for the top will be taken out by those you never see. Our dear lady America has been whored.
It is up to a higher power to set this straight, and I believe it will be. That is the upside. Until then, hang on!!
Report Post »littlefish
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:27pmI’ve always thought that King O could shoot Mrs O dead on the white house lawn and Rachell Maddow,
Report Post »and Chris Matthews would somehow miss the story . . .
AND our Eric Holder ATTN General wouldn’t see a need to investigate . . . .
And Barrack would go on Jon Stewart and laugh how they blamed Bush . . . .
And Gore would sell tickets to see the green where she fell . . . .
News. . .Smooze . . .Hitler . . .four more years . . .. .ARGHHHHH !!!
Dalady
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:51pmFunny. After Barry’s comment about Congressional insider trading in his Sorry State of the Union address, Matthews claimed he didn’t know what that was about. Of course, 60 Minutes is on a different network so he probably wasn’t allowed to know it. God help us. OMG 2012
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:10pmNow I know where all those drugs that went to the UN were supposed to go.
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:09pmBullpuckey
Report Post »Charles
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:06pmI second
Report Post »Charles
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:03pmyour spam has been reported
beckwill
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:46pmI guess extreme measures are called for when you’re up against the truth. It‘s hard to avoid the truth and it’s impossible to silence (although try as they might). I feel kinda sorry for the leftists and Soros funded groups who are looking in the wrong direction and being all paranoid and suspicious. They’re really very sad. But I’ll still get enormous satisfaction when the truth squashes them in the end.
Report Post »Mil Mom
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 3:43amKINDA LIKE THE FEELING OF STEPPING ON A COCKROACH OR A POISONOUS SPIDER, isn’t it?
Report Post »nuchsh
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:36pmSarah Palin Comes to Dershowitz’s Defense http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152745#.TzsL-ZjYtZ8
Report Post »RightThinking1
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 8:32pmMSM will ignore this story…, they are too busy trying to promote the idea that conservatives hate women.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 9:02pmWhitney just died man. And the new arab spring colors are on display. And, you cannot organize and unionize PI’s, so no story. And Whitney died and Oprah needs people to get her shows with EBT cards.
Report Post »JayCee
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 10:44pmAs the first installment of this report said,
“We were pretty much writing their prime time,” a former Media Matters employee said of the cable channel MSNBC. “But then virtually all the mainstream media was using our stuff.”
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