Media Matters for America Television Spot Reveals Controversial Iraqi Prisoner Torture Commentary; Media Matters for America Television Spot Reveals Controversial Iraqi Prisoner Torture Commentary; Ad Cracks Down on Limbaugh's Outburst

5/13/2004

From: Naomi Seligman of Media Matters for America, 202-544-9177; Web: http://www.mediamatters.org

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- Media Matters for America today launched an aggressive television ad campaign spotlighting highly controversial comments on the torture of Iraqi prisoners made by Rush Limbaugh, the political commentator with the largest radio listenership in the U.S. The 30-second ad contrasts the Bush Administration's denunciation of Iraqi prisoner torture with Limbaugh's May 4th statements comparing the torture to a college fraternity prank and people "having a good time."

VOICEOVER: "SECRETARY RUMSFELD CALLED THE TORTURE OF IRAQIS SADISTIC...CRUEL..."

RUMSFELD: "FUNDAMENTALLY UN-AMERICAN."

VOICEOVER: "BUT HERE'S WHAT RUSH LIMBAUGH SAID:"

LIMBAUGH: "THIS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HAPPENS AT THE SKULL & BONES INITIATION...I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING A GOOD TIME. THESE PEOPLE - YOU EVER HEARD OF EMOTIONAL RELEASE? YOU EVER HEARD OF NEEDING TO BLOW SOME STEAM OFF?"

VOICEOVER: "THIS IS THE MOST LISTENED-TO POLITICAL COMMENTATOR IN AMERICA?"

To view the ad, please visit http://www.mediamatters.org.

"We first posted reports of Limbaugh's comments to our website, http://www.mediamatters.org," said David Brock, president and CEO of Media Matters for America. "His radio show reaches 20 million Americans each week, with many of these listeners considering him a legitimate news source. We are running the ad to spotlight whether Rush Limbaugh is a credible source of information."

Media Matters for America's ad will run for four days in the Washington, DC area on major cable networks including CNBC, CNN, ESPN, FOX News and MSNBC.

Media Matters for America's website, http://www.mediamatters.org, currently features numerous analytical reports and full transcripts of Rush Limbaugh's Iraqi prisoner torture comments, including:

-- May 3, 2004 - Limbaugh likens the photos to "anything you'd see Madonna, or Britney Spears do on stage."

-- May 5, 2004 - Limbaugh claims "the reaction to the stupid torture is an example of the feminization of this country."

-- May 6, 2004 - Limbaugh calls the torture a "brilliant maneuver" and the photos "good old American pornography."

-- May 10, 2004 - Limbaugh mimics barking in describing a photo of a nude Iraqi prisoner terrorized by vicious guard dogs (later announces that he was incorrect in asserting that the prisoner had not actually been attacked).

-- May 11, 2004 - Limbaugh equates brutal sodomizing of Iraqi prisoners to the "cigar in the Oval Office." Media Matters for America is a new Web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to monitoring, analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Launched earlier this month by former conservative media insider David Brock, Media Matters for America puts into place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor the media for conservative misinformation - every day, in real time - in 2004 and beyond. Media Matters for America's website serves as the principal vehicle for correcting misinformation through a range of initiatives:

Media Monitoring:

-- Monitor a cross-section of print, broadcast, cable, radio and Internet media to identify conservative misinformation.

Media Analysis:

-- Rapid-response items analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation - every day, in real time.

-- Longer research and analytic reports, appearing several times per week.

-- Occasional reports of a broader scope, delving deeper than daily and weekly material.

Inaugural Projects:

-- Democracy Project. Track and swiftly correct conservative misinformation on major current political issues, with the goal of discouraging responsible news outlets from giving it credence.

-- Radio Project. Comprehensively monitor, analyze and correct targeted political talk radio shows.

-- Columnist Project. Monitor to ensure syndicated columnists - and the newspapers that publish them - adhere to fact in their opinion columns.

-- Activism Project. In the planning stages, the Activism Project will spur progressive activism based on standards and accountability in media.

Through these initiatives and advanced technology, Media Matters for America will continue to post timely reports of Limbaugh's remarks regarding Iraqi prisoner torture and other significant issues.

---

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Media Matters for America is the first organization to systematically monitor the media for conservative misinformation - every day, in real time - in 2004 and beyond. For more information, log on to http://www.mediamatters.org.