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FNC to Media Matters: “Show Us The Money,” Media Matters Replies “It’s Coming!”

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» 40 comments

Yesterday, news broke that Fox News had agreed to run an advertisement created by media watchdog group Media Matters that criticizes News Corp’s $1 Million donation to the Republican Governors Association. The news came after some questioned whether Media Matters was ever really intent on purchasing the air time.. When contacted, Media Matters said “We’re cutting a check!”

After the story broke last night that Fox News had agreed to air the ad (after Media Matters created numerous iterations of voiceover copy to meet FNC’s standards), we reached out to Fox News to learn when the ad would actually air. A spokesperson at the cable news network revealed that they had not yet received payment for the spot, and suggested that Media Matters is perhaps dragging their feet on an issue-oriented ad that is typically placed instantaneously. The Fox News source added “They want to run it next week? Great, but we need a check.” According to Fox, after the ad was approved, Media Matters never revealed their specific plans to the network.

When contacted, Media Matters Vice President of Research & Communications Ari Rabin-Havt reminded Mediaite of a pledge that he’d made to this reporter last week when he guaranteed that they would run the ad if they could get it approved. Further, Rabin-Havt added “We plan to run the ad after Labor Day weekend, when everyone is back from vacation,” and followed with plans to have a check sent to the D.C. area media buyer in the next day or two.

It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported, by Fox News, to be enormously well-funded by left-of-center financier George Soros. The 30 second spot has already received ample publicity and promotion before ever seeing the television airwaves, and can be seen below in its entirety:



Update: Fox News has reported on Media Matters’ ad. Video of that segment below:

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  • shootfromthehip

    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported to be enormously well-funded.”

    Not in bizzaro conservative land. They make no sense. They just attack. Media Matters is broke one day, rich the next. No matter. Just attack them.

  • felixw

    Given the Media Matters’ history of lying and deception, Fox really should demand payment in advance. I’d call Media Matters a slimeball operation, but it wouldn’t be fair to balls of slime.

  • Constantly

    ITS COMING!! they are jerking off soros as fast as they can!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    The payment is on the way. George Soros is sending the funds to Media Matters tonight. Just a little more dirty money to help socialist entities peddle lies.

  • Azarkhan

    felixw said:
    Given the Media Matters’ history of lying and deception, Fox really should demand payment in advance.

    Cashier’s check.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Roberto-Solorzano/520667011 Roberto Solorzano

    Let me get this right. MMFA is paying $35,000 for an ad on Fox for a situation that Fox viewers know about and support? Is MMFA really that stupid?

  • notsofast

    FOX, make sure you get a certified check from those commies, first!

  • timzank

    shootfromthehip said:
    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported to be enormously well-funded.” Not in bizzaro conservative land. They make no sense. They just attack. Media Matters is broke one day, rich the next. No matter. Just attack them.

    Kind of like one day fox is meaningless, the next day a threat to all of american culture and society, huh? Or like one day George Bush was an evil genius and the next day the dumbest man on the planet.

  • BatBoy

    Seriously…the check is in the mail….I put it there ahhh ummm aaaaa ssssssis yesterday!

  • shootfromthehip

    “Or like one day George Bush was an evil genius ”

    I have never once called Bush a “genius” of any sort and never will.

    And I have never said that Fox is “meaningless.” They are not and the ratings prove it.

    They are (sadly) powerful with Americans who don’t know they are being misled,

  • mlong

    FOX should after running the ad…ask if a representative from MM will come on and be asked how they feel about all the money the other news networks have given Dems.

  • Azarkhan

    shootfromthehip said:
    And I have never said that Fox is “meaningless.” They are not and the ratings prove it.
    They are (sadly) powerful with Americans who don’t know they are being misled,

    Well, at least the “misled” Americans who watch Fox News aren’t as bamboozled as those who watch MSNBC.

  • Moderate

    shootfromthehip says:
    September 1, 2010 at 8:00 pm
    “Or like one day George Bush was an evil genius ”

    Two years can make a world of difference in politics. In 2008, the swing state of Ohio helped elect President Barack Obama over John McCain by giving the Democrat 52% of the vote to 47% for his Republican rival. In a new poll, however, Obama would lose 50% to 42% to … former President George W. Bush!
    http://blogs.marketwatch.com/election/2010/09/01/ohio-voters-turn-against-obama-democrats-poll-finds/

  • Azarkhan

    It’s not looking good for Vanity Fair when CNN’s Peter Hamby has joined liberals such as Ben Smith, Dave Weigel, race-baiter Charles Blow, and Kirsten Powers in denouncing the Vanity Fair hit piece. Hamby tweets:

    .@benpolitico is right re: VF article. I was w/ Palin for entire VP bid. never got a hint that she “lashed out at the slightest provocation”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    shootfromthehip said:
    “And I have never said that Fox is “meaningless.” They are not and the ratings prove it. They are (sadly) powerful with Americans who don’t know they are being misled,

    Shoot, maybe you can help me out with something. About 2 years ago Barack Obama told us that the planet was going to heal, and the rise of the oceans would begin to reverse, once he was elected. Can you tell me which one will happen first? I wasn’t being misled, was I?

  • Azarkhan

    Moderate said:
    however, Obama would lose 50% to 42% to … former President George W. Bush!

    In that poll, 11% of Democrats now favor Bush over Obama. The Shape Shifter and his fellow Democrats will have to work powerful magic to have any success in November.

  • Azarkhan

    Pro-abortion radical Monika Bauerlein from the extreme Mother Jones magazine tweets:

    I didn’t think anything could make me rear up in Sarah Palin’s defense, but this VF profile is close.

    “Sarah, these aides say, seemed comforted by having the children around, and she seemed lonely when they were gone.” Truly a monster.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    Azarkhan said:
    In that poll, 11% of Democrats now favor Bush over Obama. The Shape Shifter and his fellow Democrats will have to work powerful magic to have any success in November.

    Actually, Obama would like to lose both houses in November. That is the plan. The administration knows it is stuck in the mud no matter what, as the election losses will be heavy. The plan now is to lose both houses, cry “obstruction” for the following two years, and then blame the GOP for blocking all the great things is trying to accomplish in 2012. It won’t work, but that is the last bullet in the gun now.

  • Ninja

    Andy Lamb said:
    Actually, Obama would like to lose both houses in November. That is the plan. The administration knows it is stuck in the mud no matter what, as the election losses will be heavy. The plan now is to lose both houses, cry “obstruction” for the following two years, and then blame the GOP for blocking all the great things is trying to accomplish in 2012. It won’t work, but that is the last bullet in the gun now.

    They do that now even with super majorities for most of his first 20 months. Can’t imagine how bad it will get in January when the new Congress is sworn in.

  • Azarkhan

    Andy Lamb said:
    Actually, Obama would like to lose both houses in November. That is the plan.

    If that is the “plan”, it was formed hastily over the last month when the Democratic majority in the Senate suddenly became endangered. Who thought before August that the three Dems mentioned below would be in any serious danger. Well, perhaps Boxer, but not the others. I’m betting Feingold survives and the other two lose.

    From Politico:
    Control of the U.S. Senate increasingly appears to hang on the fate of an unlikely trio of Democratic incumbents who were elected along with Bill Clinton in 1992, hail from liberal-leaning states and have lived mostly charmed political lives.

    At the start of the year, few observers thought the Senate was up for grabs in part because it seemed implausible that Washington’s Patty Murray, California’s Barbara Boxer and Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold were in any serious danger….

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41688.html#ixzz0yKcBucCQ

  • Ninja

    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported, by Fox News, to be enormously well-funded by left-of-center financier George Soros.”

    Not really odd at all Colby. What you obviously do not realize is one of the major aspects of the Patriot Act requires a significant Anti-Money Laundering audit on all foreign funds coming into this country. Soros dumped his US dollars long ago.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    Ninja said:
    They do that now even with super majorities for most of his first 20 months. Can’t imagine how bad it will get in January when the new Congress is sworn in.

    As you surmise, it will get worse. What I REALLY can’t wait to see is how Obama begins to move back to the political center later in 2011 and in 2012. He’ll probably even start talking about how he admires Ronald Reagan again.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    Azarkhan said:
    If that is the “plan”, it was formed hastily over the last month when the Democratic majority in the Senate suddenly became endangered. Who thought before August that the three Dems mentioned below would be in any serious danger. Well, perhaps Boxer, but not the others. I’m betting Feingold survives and the other two lose. From Politico:Control of the U.S. Senate increasingly appears to hang on the fate of an unlikely trio of Democratic incumbents who were elected along with Bill Clinton in 1992, hail from liberal-leaning states and have lived mostly charmed political lives. At the start of the year, few observers thought the Senate was up for grabs in part because it seemed implausible that Washington’s Patty Murray, California’s Barbara Boxer and Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold were in any serious danger…. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41688.html#ixzz0yKcBucCQ

    The numbers I saw tonight that were the stunner to me are the polls from Ohio that show that GW Bush would trounce Obama if the two were running for President right now. Do you think Hillary is girding her loins for a run at Obama herself? I do.

  • Ninja

    Andy Lamb said:
    As you surmise, it will get worse. What I REALLY can’t wait to see is how Obama begins to move back to the political center later in 2011 and in 2012. He’ll probably even start talking about how he admires Ronald Reagan again.

    We can only hope. Remember that Clintons first 2 years in office were an abomination…well the rest was too, but looking back I would love to have that abomination back today. I don’t think this President will be able to come back to the middle left, forget about the middle even if the R’s take back both houses.

  • AntiHyperbole

    Media Matters may be disingenuous DNC water carriers, but at least they know where the viewers are. Why waste the money to produce a commercial just to air it on MSNBC where nobody will see it. In their attempt to be cheeky and snide all they really accomplish is cutting Fox a nice check. The only aspect of capitalism that i am usually against is taking advantage of of the mentally inferior, but in this case I’m all for it.

  • Azarkhan

    Andy Lamb said:
    . Do you think Hillary is girding her loins for a run at Obama herself? I do.

    I cannot imagine a white leftist (not liberal) woman like Hillary challenging the first black President. I can imagine her becoming the VP. I think Biden is history.

  • Azarkhan

    AntiHyperbole said:
    to air it on MSNBC where nobody will see it.

    Not where nobody will see it. Where nobody needs to see it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Lamb/1085325013 Andy Lamb

    Ninja said:
    We can only hope. Remember that Clintons first 2 years in office were an abomination…well the rest was too, but looking back I would love to have that abomination back today. I don’t think this President will be able to come back to the middle left, forget about the middle even if the R’s take back both houses.

    I should have clarified. When I said “move back to the political center” I meant in word only. He ran as a moderate to get elected, realizing that most voters are too politically uneducated to know what they are voting for. So, I expect him to try it again, thinking people can be bamboozled again. As far as actually moderating his plan – there is no chance of that happening. He is a complete far left ideologue with only one objective – redistribution. He has said so himself many times.

  • notsofast

    MM originally planned to run the ad on MSNBC until they saw the ratings for MSNBC.

  • AntiHyperbole

    As hard as it is for Media Matters to believe, FOX viewers aren’t as dumb as liberals condescendingly claim.

    Anyone with even the slightest ability of spotting the obvious knows that 90% of the mainstream media (88% to be exact, see link) throws mountains of cash to Democrats. 1 network donates to the GOP and liberals lose their collective minds. Hypocritical indignation is all they know.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Obama-Democrats-got-88-percent-of-TV-network-employee-campaign-contributions-101668063.html

  • Ninja

    It must really irk the left wing loons that write for this site that the majority of the comments expose them. The stories are good for a laugh every now and then though. Especially the esteemed member of the press “corpse”!

  • http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

    It is amazing what the left tries to push as a story. G.E. gives to the Republican governors also. End of story. LOL.

    The loon Maddow is now trying to make a story about a private prison group giving money to Gov. Brewer so they will get more prisoners from the Arizona immigration law. LOL. Some dumb reporter on a local Phoenix reporter is trying to claim a conflict of interest with the governor and the prison owners.
    Just how dumb are liberals. We worry about a conflict of interest when people give money to politicians when they do it to get them to do things against the public interest. Duh? The people LOVE the new law. They want more of the illegals put in jail. Therefore we need more jails. Poor dumb Rachael, she reports this as a BIG story. LOL

  • Ninja

    Did Rachel sing this report or did she laugh inbetween each word she said ? I can’t figure out if the RMS is a comedy show or the Real L Word.

  • bellap12

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  • Haimerej

    shootfromthehip said:
    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported to be enormously well-funded.” Not in bizzaro conservative land. They make no sense. They just attack. Media Matters is broke one day, rich the next. No matter. Just attack them.

    Who implied they didn’t have the funds? Let’s look at what he said. “They want to run it next week? Great, but we need a check.”

    So, saying they haven’t paid for the spot yet is, “imply[ing] that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot.” Oooookay.

  • FearMonger

    Azarkhan said:
    Well, at least the “misled” Americans who watch Fox News aren’t as bamboozled as those who watch MSNBC.

    I prefer the term ‘snookered’ a la Ben Jealous but your point is well taken.

    Speaking of BJ…. did anyone hear what he said about what would happen if the Restoring Honor crowd was read MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech?

    How’s THAT for diplomacy?!?!?!?

  • FearMonger

    Ninja said:
    It must really irk the left wing loons that write for this site that the majority of the comments expose them. The stories are good for a laugh every now and then though. Especially the esteemed member of the press “corpse”!

    LMAO! Speaking of ‘irking’…..methinks the left wing loon commenters are good for chuckles too… especially when their panties get all wadded up over their own hatred, prejudices and double-standards being exposed. Mirrors are very effective tools for reflecting hypocrisy. They are brutally truthful and the leftwingers are not liking what they are seeing right now.

    As they reap the whirlwind of their own making perhaps they will learn a lesson about ‘the shoe on the other foot’….. I kinda doubt it though and I sure hope they keep making the same mistakes.

    AntiHyperbole said:
    Hypocritical indignation is all they know.

    There certainly IS a lot of that going on these days… it stinks of desperation as they are in the process of throwing the kitchen sink against the wall in hopes that it sticks. Meanwhile the casualties are piling up. The implosion has already begun, there is nothing to be gained by doing anything except standing clear of the wreckage….

    but watching it is a real BLAST!

  • Sean68

    $1 million to tell the Fox News audience the network is biased in favor of Republicans?! And people say liberals don’t understand economics!

  • Jelperman

    shootfromthehip said:
    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported to be enormously well-funded.”

    Not in bizzaro conservative land. They make no sense. They just attack. Media Matters is broke one day, rich the next. No matter. Just attack them.

    The way Falafel O’Reilly and Hannitard spit out the name George Soros, you can tell his name is just code for:

    DA JOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Westover/1496648721 Tony Westover

    “It is odd to imply that Media Matters has no funds to run this spot, when they are often reported, by Fox News, to be enormously well-funded by left-of-center financier George Soros.”

    *LOL* “Left-of-center”? Who do you assholes think you’re fooling?

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