Media Matters calls Sean Hannity its “Misinformer of the Year”
Media Matters for America, a non-profit with a very stated agenda – “monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media” — says Fox News’ Sean Hannity is its 2008 “Misinformer of the Year.”
Mediamatters.org today has a lengthy article – a diatribe or detailed documentation, depending on your political point of view — outlining its “misinformer” case against Hannity.
Here’s the top:
“As Media Matters for America 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. Day after day, Hannity devoted his two Fox News shows and his three-hour ABC Radio Networks program to “demonizing” the Democratic presidential candidates, starkly explaining in August: “That’s my job. … I led the ‘Stop Hillary Express.’ By the way, now it’s the ‘Stop Obama Express.’ ” Hannity’s “Stop Obama Express” promoted and embellished a vast array of misleading attacks and false claims about Obama. Along the way, he uncritically adopted and promoted countless Republican talking points and played host to numerous credibility-challenged smear artists who painted Obama as a dangerous radical. When he was not going after Obama, Hannity attacked members of Obama’s family, as well as Sen. Hillary Clinton and other progressives, and denied all the while that he had unfairly attacked anyone.”
Steve Parker is the deputy managing editor for news, and oversees the Post-Dispatch's front page. STLtoday's online news editors are on his newsroom team. Parker has been at the paper since September 1980. 
And what is your point Mr. Parker? What does this have to do with the Post Dispatch or your editorial board? Media Matters is a radically liberal organization that is not so innocent. Are you starting to feel a little guilty about your own reporting that you feel the need to lash out at others?
“Misinformer of the year”-Hell, we been knowin’ that fer years!
I think it would be fair to say that just as many things about McCain were misinformed as well. For every time Hannity misquoted, or quoted out of context, I’d lay odds that a liberal commentator did the same against McCain or any other republican nominee.
Personally, I wish the opinion people would go away and give us the news/facts and let us decide.
Think - the cat is now out of the bag. Now at least we know what source Mr. Parker uses before he decides what to print each day. I admire his class for finally admitting his far-left-wing kook agenda bias now that you have driven the paper into the ground. Good for you Steve! I bet you are starting to feel better already.
Steve, just by chance if you ever want to challenge yourself, here is my major site for news that surely will not be found in the PD:
http://www.gatewaypundit.blogspot.com
and here is a real media bias site which might shock you:
http://www.newsbusters.org
Bet you won’t report the record snow in Vegas or the snow in Malibu, right?
Also, don’t report that the gays are pissed at Obama for asking Rick Warren to his inauguration even though Obama said he was against gay marriage too.
Hanity is a low-lifed scum of the earth. I have listened to his rethoric for months and have found that most of his information is either untrue or misleading. This man has a personal grudge against Obama, perhaps the Fairness Doctrine should be brought back. I have also noticed that most of the people who call-in to Hannity’s show are not well educated and are unable to sort out the facts. Hannity created controversy to sell his books.
A CENTRIST - Why didn’t you just go the Full Monty and list Free Republic as your source for “All the talking points that are fit to print”? Understand that quoting from Media Matters is as bad as quoting from Newsbusters or Freeperville or Gateway Pundit or the Huffington Post.
Also understand that this is an editor’s blog, not an editorial blog. There’s a difference. If you’d like to see why comparing Media Matters to Newsbusters is a fallacy, look into http://factcheck.org/
It should come as no surprise that Sean Hannity is the winner of this award. Dubious though it is, Sean Hannity is the perfect choice. He is willing to repeat — ad nauseum — any right-wing talking points that are placed in front of him. He sees connections and conspiracies everywhere in the Democratic party. He staunchly refuses to accept any truth that disagrees with his view of the world.
For several weeks near the beginning of the Presidential campaign, I watched both Hannity & Colmes, and Hannity’s America, and debunked the talking points presented in both, as part of a Fox News watchdog group. To say that Mr. Hannity stretched the bounds of credibility is an understatement. Questions of professional standards are raised when former Vice President Dan Quayle and columnist Anne Coulter are the sensible persons in an interview.
With the announcement that Alan Colmes will be leaving the Hannity & Colmes show, and the news that Mr. Hannity will have his own hour long program in place of H&C, we should expect to see even more ‘misinformation’ awards piled on the brow of Mr. Hannity at this time next year.
Sean Hannity can’t tell any truth that hasn’t been approved by the RNC. Watch as he feeds the new White House revisionist legacy story to the viewers of his programs.