New Internet Site Turns Critical Eyes and Ears to the Right (David Brock)

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, May 2 — David Brock, the former right-wing journalist turned liberal, describes himself as once having been a rather large cog in the machinery of the conservative media.

Now Mr. Brock is starting a new endeavor built to combat the very sector of journalism that spawned him, with support from the same sorts of people (Democrats) about whom he once wrote so critically.

With more than $2 million in donations from wealthy liberals, Mr. Brock will start a new Internet site this week that he says will monitor the conservative media and correct erroneous assertions in real time.

The site, called Media Matters, was devised as part of a larger media apparatus being built by liberals to combat what they say is the overwhelming influence of conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.

Mr. Brock's project was developed with help from the newly formed Center for American Progress, the policy group headed by John D. Podesta, the former Clinton chief of staff. And Mr. Brock said he hoped it could help provide fodder for fledgling liberal radio talk shows being started across the country, including those of the comedians Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/business/media/03BROC.html?ex=1084161600&en=c842f1f28d9a99fc&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[Supormom]

1. It seems to me that

Al Franken does a pretty good job of refuting the conservative lies.
:D

[Tansy_Gold]

28. But he's often a day or two late

I don't get to listen to Franken all the time, but almost every time I do, he's bringing up "news" that broke here on DU several days before. The story about Bremer dissing the * administration months before Sept. 11, for example, was backed up by David Sirota of CAP as being something he in turn had received from someone else.

[Merlin]

2. Great! We need to ramp up.

The right has dozens of think tanks. We have so view. This will be one more.

In the long haul, these entities make a hell of a lot of difference. They're so much more effective than volunteers, because they've got to keep at it day-by-day to justify their existence to their donors.

Good for Brock.

[boobooday]

3. Way Cool

Pull out all the stops. The only answer to their misinformation is a barrage of information from here on planet earth!

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. The days of the Echo chamber are OVER

and about bloody time...

Thanks David, and welcome to the good fight (I knwo you have been,
but still)

[fearnobush]

5. I guess he figured he'd better wrong the right, since all mass media

is right wing.

[crossroads]

6. Awwwww Riiiiiiightt!!!

Its about time someone will give a counterspin to what conservatives hear everywhere! Maybe some of them will wake up and actually listen to what is *really* going on under their noses.

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. Yeah, he's a liar

and he came clean about it which is a helluva lot more honorable than those of the attack machine who choose to never admit they lied to advance the conservative agenda

[hang a left]

8. Did he have some sort of epiphany or something?

Color me skeptical. Stories like this remind me of a phrase I read here a couple of years ago. It goes something like; If you want to win a fight you need to control both sides.


on edit here not hear

[Occulus]

9. He wrote a book

Blinded by the Right. I haven't read it, though; you'd have to ask someone else here. I think maybe I need a copy of that... adding it to my list.

Anyway, he's done come clean and talked about it for some time now. I guess I have to say I trust what the guy has to say, especially if he's checking facts.

[joe1991]

11. It was a good book

Mr. Brock came 100% clean, and also pulled down the shades of the Scaife-funded attack machine. I do believe him. His regret shows on every page. He was a young man who took the wrong path for a few years. I'd just say give him a chance.

[Misunderestimator]

16. Great Book

It was written very well, and I agree with the other posters that he seems genuine. The disturbing part of the book is how long it took such an intelligent man to put his sunglasses on. Blinded was the perfect word to use for the title. He was "blinded" by politics from the right from a very young age and encouraged and praised through college and beyond for his activism in republican causes. It does give a rare glimpse into what goes through the mind of a republican.

[rwenos]

10. If you Read "Blinded by the Right," . . .

. . . you would not suspect David Brock of infiltrating. His epiphany was brought about by writing a book about Hilary Clinton which the Right found insufficiently critical. He then came out of the closet . . . and that was that. They threw him out of the club.

Brock has guts. Let's not throw away an important resource here. He knows where some of the skeletons are buried.

[Demoiselle]

12. Agreed, rwenos...

"Blinded" was a very good book by a very talented writer whose conversion looks pretty genuine to me.

[Jazzgirl]

18. I wondered the same thing too liberalnproud.

I started thinking about the right-wing attempted takeover of the board of the Sierra Club when I read this. It could be an attempt to "appear" liberal when in reality they advance more conservative views under the guise of "correcting the lies."

[leftchick]

13. This is GREAT news..... <more>

<snip>Mr. Brock said he hoped his new project could be as influential as the Media Research Center, a conservative media monitoring group run by L. Brent Bozell III that frequently calls attention to what it calls examples of liberal bias in the news media. Its findings often become subjects for conservative radio and cable talk shows.

Mr. Brock argued that such monitoring groups have helped build the conservative media's influence, in part by making mainstream journalists toe a more conservative line by convincing them that they are liberally biased.

"The right wing in this country has dominated the debate over liberal bias," Mr. Brock said during an interview Friday. "By dominating that debate, my belief is they've moved the media itself to the right and therefore they've moved American politics to the right."

He added, "I wanted to create an institution to combat what they're doing."

....no mention of him monitoring his great admirer DRUDGE!

:bounce:

[symbolman]

14. Hey

That's what Take Back the Media is all about..

How do I send him some of this work? Offering it all FREE to Kerry online..

"Bush Knew - An American Requiem"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/true911.html
Music: Beethoven's Requiem in D major - "LaCrimosa"

WARNING: GRAPHIC

I created this exactly one year after the actual horror took place on 911. I found it absolutely impossible to believe that Bush would sit on his butt in a schoolroom KNOWING that one of the World Trade Center towers had been taken out by an airliner - and STILL sit there (even AFTER Andrew told him personall that the SECOND tower had been hit) and READ A BOOK ABOUT A GOAT FOR OVER A HALF AN HOUR.

Think about that. I've included all the information by the media that shows that he had FULL KNOWLEDGE of our country being under attack when he walked INTO that school (placing all those kids in danger - his whereabouts were well known - this was a planned photo op.

This flash may be disturbing to some people. It involves a split screen that shows Bush reading on the left while the buildings burn and poor souls are leaping to their death. The death that in my opinion was allowed to happen at a minimum and at a maximum shows utter incompetence by Bush, who as we have learned recently had MANY warnings in presidential briefs right up to the cataclysm. BUSH KNEW - AND DID NOTHING.

This flash was made possible by the use of actual footage made at the Booker Elementary school by local media that morning that shows CONCLUSIVELY that Bush SAT on a chair, looking mighty guilty to many of us.

"Bush is Not a Nazi - So Stop Saying That.."
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/bushnonazi.html

"ARMY OF ONE"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html
or VIEW the 30 second TV ad
here: http://www.bushin30seconds.org/view/11_small.shtml

"Murder By Numbers"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/murderby.html

"CondoLIESa"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/condosleeza.html

"ChickenHawk - Hall of Shame"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/chickenhawks.html

"Triumph of the Wimp"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/triwimp.html

"Pentagoon"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/pentagoon2.html

"VoteREvolution"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/voterevolution.html

"Duct Tape Theater"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/dtape1.html

"Hate Radio Called.."
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/hateradio1.html

"Baghdad Snapshot Action"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/iraqkids.html

"Warnography"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/warnography.html

"The Protest that Never Was"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/noprotest.html

"One Hundred Lies In 30 Seconds"
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/100lies.html

I'm not beating my drum here, these are available for everyone to view (if you haven't seen some of them, then here is your chance)

But mainly this is a plea to anyone that views this page to CONTACT the Kerry Team and help them make use of some of my work and style - I'm offering these works for FREE use by them - we need to get the Beasts out of OUR Precious White House.

The ARMY OF ONE ad comes in 30 and 60 seconds flavors and is already Vetted by the cable companies.

John, Teresa, Marvelous Marvin? Give me a call - we love you and we want to help, and it's time to hit them back HARD with facts, wit, and truth.

Anyone else viewing this page, Please pass it along - THIS is another way to fight these creatures, blanket the WEB with these Flash Attack Ads!

As you can see, WE DELIVER :)

Symbolman co founder of Take Back The Media.com
http://www.takebackthemedia.com

[JNelson6563]

17. Just stoppin' in

To drop a howdy and big hugs to you Symbolman. I love your work at Take Back the Media. Was delighted to have caught you on TV long time back too. You are a hero in this fight IMO.

Julie--big fan of yours

[saigon68]

21. Excellent Work at "Take Back the Media"

Absolutely first class.

I am in AWE !!!

[JoFerret]

22. Outstanding work

Thank-you

[leQ]

27. kudos from north iowa too!

n/t

[joeunderdog]

30. Love your stuff. And Brocks.

I have sent your "Bush Knew" flash to dozens. It freaked me out when I first saw it. I had to watch it again. It's convincing and nauseating.

GREAT WORK.

Also loved Blinded by the Right. It scared me too. The scope of incestuous politics between the media, the judges and the politicians on the right, and the sophisticated coordination that was by no means happenstance was hardhitting. Brock sold me.

[bpilgrim]

15. tell him he can use the GFP ticker

the ONLY progressive news ticker on the planet - that i know of - and it is FREE!

http://GlobalFreePress.com

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[Snellius]

19. Cutting off our enemy's head will not make us any taller

I wish liberals would put at least as much money and intelligence into formulating the philosophy, policy and politics of a new American liberalism as they do into bitching and complaining about how Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot or how unfair and unbalanced FOX News is. What liberalism really needs are think tanks and media centers to rival A.E.I., Hudson Institute, Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation on the right.

[Nlighten1]

20. Amen brother.

IMO we have enough website to combat the right. The Democratic generals need to put some boots on the ground and start the real war.

[snippy]

23. I agree, but rapid identification and rebuttal of republican lies

is important as well. What really is needed is a comprehensive strategy which incorporates and coordinates both offensive and defensive elements. The republicans are much better at this than the democrats, in my opinion. Podesta's organization may be a first step in this directiion.

[checks-n-balances]

24. Hooray for David Brock, one of the first to have the guts to speak out

He was one of the first rightwingers to see the REAL "light" and turn over the rethug propaganda rock and expose the filth crawling underneath. I.e., he saw it & exposed it BEFORE Bush II took office! I was already a lifelong demo when I read it about 3 years ago, but he really opened my eyes to the inner workings of the slime machine as it attacked Clinton from the very begining. He also got pretty extensive in helping connect the dots with neocon/antiClinton "checkbook journalism" by explaining who's who within the right-wing media & think tanks (Kristol, Rupert Murdoch, Scaife, etc.) And naive rightwingers with a hint of conscience who read it would have to be ashamed if they have any decency.

When "Blinded by the Right" was published, the attack machine went full force to plant doubts about his credibility, but obviously anyone who had read the book could see that they were just up to their predictable attack again, right on cue.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Brock!!!

[nodehopper]

25. that's nice...but isn't that exactly what Media Corps of Moveon.org does?

[wicket]

26. "Blinded By the Right"

His book was so awesome!

[RedEarth]

29. Here's a link to Brock's site....mediamatters.org

http://mediamatters.org/

Welcome to Media Matters for America, a new Web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Because a healthy democracy depends on public access to accurate and reliable information, Media Matters for America is dedicated to alerting news outlets and consumers to conservative misinformation -- wherever we find it, in every news cycle -- and to spurring progressive activism based on standards and accountability in media.

In the mid-1990s, as a conservative media insider, I saw firsthand (and participated in) the damage done to our democracy when conservative misinformation masquerades as journalism. In my book Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative (2002), I revealed how this misinformation -- deliberately bought and paid for by covert political forces -- enveloped the media, poisoned public discourse, and nearly toppled a president.

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