And a Happy New Year?

December 22, 2008 FROM: David Brock, Media Matters Dear Aurora , As 2008 comes to a close, we at Media Matters for America have a great deal to be thankful for, including the dedicated support from people like you. This year has proven successful for progressives across the board as we have witnessed historic victories and reached new heights with our efforts to bring accountability to the media. Media Matters has played a vital role in supporting progressive causes and helping to reshape the political landscape. Through our work, we have helped to build an emerging culture of accountability in the media, which has had a significant impact this year on the media's treatment of the presidential campaign and other major issues that are important to us. But this would not have been possible without the continued enthusiasm and support of concerned people like you. Media Matters Year in Review: Sean Hannity: Media Matters' 2008 Misinformer of the Year: As Media Matters has demonstrated time and again, Fox News' Sean Hannity has been a prolific and influential purveyor of conservative misinformation. But never has he so enthusiastically applied his talents for spreading misinformation as he did to the 2008 presidential race, focusing his energies primarily on President-elect Barack Obama. Read more ... Hannity was not alone in smearing, misinforming on Fox News in 2008: While Hannity earned Media Matters' "Misinformer of the Year" title for 2008, he was not alone in spreading conservative misinformation on Fox News. Indeed, smears of Obama and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton were prevalent during the presidential campaign, and false claims about progressive policies, issues, and individuals were common throughout Fox News programming. Read more ... It's official: Readers pick Cokie Roberts' "foreign, exotic" Hawaii comments as Most Inane: In the end, it wasn't close. By an overwhelming margin, criticism by Cokie Roberts, NPR contributing senior news analyst and ABC political commentator, of then-Sen. Obama for choosing Hawaii, the state of his birth, to take his August family vacation was the most popular entry in Media Matters' poll for Most Inane Punditry of the 2008 presidential campaign. Readers chose Roberts' comments -- which included her characterizing Hawaii, where he vacations regularly, as "foreign, exotic" -- in greater numbers than her two closest competitors combined. Read more ... Most Outrageous Comments of 2008: With attacks on children, the poor, people of color, immigrants, the LGBT community, and women, talking heads showed that nobody was safe in 2008, no matter how unfounded the smear. Progressive politicians, particularly Clinton and Obama, were also targets. Obama was called everything from a "pussy," to a "steamy crap sandwich." One commentator said Obama "fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo -- a black on the outside, a white on the inside," while others associated him with the Antichrist. MSNBC's Chris Matthews said Clinton's success is attributable not to her merit, but to the fact that "her husband messed around." The list of offenses in 2008 is a long one, but Media Matters has selected some of the standouts. Read more ... History has taught us that a conservative movement back on its heels can turn into a dangerous one, capable of ruthlessness and vicious campaigns of personal destruction. Conservatives will be just as aggressive, organized, and well-funded in 2009 as they were in 1993, if not more so, when they set out to destroy the Clinton presidency and the Democratic Congress. If we stand together and fight to expose conservative misinformation, we can make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. I hope we can count on your support as we seek to build on our recent successes and continue the fight conservative falsehoods and misinformation. From all of us here at Media Matters, we wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season. All the best, David Brock Founder & CEO Media Matters for America P.S. There are just ten days left before the year's end. Please help us continue the fight in 2009 by making your tax-deductible donation to Media Matters today - CLICK HERE.