Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Hannity falsely claims that health care bill doesn't provide immediate benefits On March 3, Sean Hannity falsely claimed that "we're going to pay taxes on this bill what for three, four years, before the bill is even implemented." In fact, numerous benefits contained in the Senate bill would become available in the first year after the bill is enacted. Read More Rove's anti-health care reform column full of misinformation In a March 11 Wall Street Journal editorial, Fox News Contributor Karl Rove falsely claimed that the Senate health care bill has "abortion-funding language," adds to the deficit and contains no immediate benefits. In fact, the Senate bill prohibits federal funding of abortion, contains numerous immediate benefits, and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, reduces the deficit. Read More Cato's Tanner twists facts in NY Post op-ed on Dems "twisting arms" for health care votes Referencing HBO's "The Sopranos," Cato Institute senior fellow Michael Tanner wrote in the New York Post that Democrats "are willing to use every trick in the book to get this [health care] bill passed." However, many of Tanner's allegations of suspect tactics by Democrats are not supported by the facts. Read More Fox accuses admin of "secret" and "sinister" plan to "grab" land Seizing on allegations made by Rep. Bob Bishop (R-UT), Fox & Friends accused the Obama administration of moving ahead with a "secret" and "sinister" plan to "grab 12, 13 million acres, designating them as federal monuments." In fact, there is no such plan; the allegations are reportedly based on a "very preliminary" Department of Interior memo "brainstorming" possible "candidates" for monument status, and the Interior Department has said "[n]o decisions have been made about which areas, if any, might merit more serious review and consideration." Read More Double standard: After defending Hastert over Foley scandal, Fox now attacks Pelosi over Massa Fox News has trumpeted stories that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's staff -- but not Pelosi herself -- may have been made aware of some concerns regarding Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) last year. However, following the revelation that then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert had likely been personally informed of email then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) sent to a congressional page, Fox News personalities defended Hastert. Read More Doocy baselessly claims Slaughter is angling to pass health care reform without a vote Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy baselessly claimed that Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) is offering a way to pass health care reform legislation "without actually voting on it." However, the House has already voted on and passed a health care reform bill, and a legislative rule reportedly under consideration would still require the House to vote on changes to the Senate's health care reform bill. Read More Glenn Beck: Behind the Music Glenn Beck has repeatedly attacked popular music as "propaganda" that is helping to advance a progressive agenda and undermine America. Fox example, Beck warned that Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" is "about a progressive utopia" and that the Beatles' "Revolution" "spell[s] it all out" about "how progressives have been operating." Read More Running with a bad crowd For a few weeks last fall, editors and ombudsmen at The Washington Post and New York Times seemed obsessed with the idea that they should be paying more attention to right-wing media and websites. In the wake of some wildly hyperbolic claims about ACORN, the nation's leading news outlets apologized for being too slow to run chasing after every "scandal" ginned up by Andrew Breitbart, Glenn Beck, and their ilk. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.