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. The myth of Fox News' ratings spike Fact: The breathless claim that Fox News' ratings recently spiked thanks to the White House's public critique is bogus hype -- hype that Fox News and the Beltway press have relentlessly pushed. Read More Fox News ignores that vaccinating Gitmo detainees benefits military personnel The November 2 editions of Fox News' Special Report and Hannity both reported solely on criticism of reported plans to allow Guantánamo Bay detainees access to H1N1 vaccines, ignoring the benefit to military personnel. Neither report noted that military personnel will be vaccinated before detainees, that vaccinating detainees can help protect military personnel and their families, or that conservatives have repeatedly in the past touted the health care benefits given to detainees in order to defend the controversial detention center. Read More Washington Times adds judicial nominee David Hamilton to its witch hunt on Obama nominees A Washington Times editorial has again used select comments and decisions made by one of President Obama's judicial nominees to smear him as a "radical's radical." In addition to invoking judicial nominee Judge David Hamilton's views on "empathy" -- a favorite conservative attack -- the editorial, which is being highlighted by the Fox Nation, misleadingly suggested that Hamilton believes judges should "effectively amend the Constitution" and that he discriminated against Christianity by banning the word "Jesus" from state legislature prayer, but allowing the word "Allah." Read More Following Rep. Foxx's lead, media conservatives compare health care reform to terrorism On November 2, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said on the House floor regarding health care legislation before the House: "I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country." Following Foxx's statement, Fox News' Glenn Beck compared health care reform to 9-11, and talk radio host Neal Boortz and the Fox Nation promoted Foxx's attack. Read More Fox News finds another cause: Promoting Rep. Bachmann's health care protest In recent days, following its pattern of advocacy, Fox News has repeatedly promoted Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) upcoming anti-health care reform protest, to be held on Capitol Hill and in the halls of Congress. Fox News has previously promoted numerous other rallies such as the April 15 tea party protests, health care town hall protests, and the 9-12 march on Washington. Read More Beck witch hunt for socialists, communists, Marxists moves on to SEIU's Stern Continuing his pattern, Glenn Beck suggested during the November 3 edition of his radio program that SEIU's Andy Stern  is a communist, socialist, and Marxist because he said in an interview that "workers of the world unite, it's not just a slogan anymore. It's the way we're going to have to do our work." However, when asked in a separate interview why he uses the slogan, Stern replied that it's "good news" that "communism's dead"; further, numerous conservatives, including Newt Gingrich and John McCain, have approvingly cited quotes or tactics from communist and socialist dictators -- yet those conservatives have seemed to escape Beck's witch hunt. Read More Media in 2001: Off-year elections have little national significance Conservative media are attempting to use the results of gubernatorial elections to suggest President Obama's agenda and Democrats' 2010 electoral prospects are in trouble. In the wake of Bob McDonnell's apparent victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Media Matters has documented examples of media arguing that Democratic victories in 2001 had little national significance. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.