Deters should follow Dobbs lead.......

Dear Citizens Against Joe Deters,

Thank you.

Last night was Lou Dobbs' last show on CNN. Dobbs' sudden departure is a powerful reminder of what we are capable of when we work together. For years, Dobbs used his prominent platform on CNN as a perch to spread hate, misinformation, and wild conspiracy theories. Thanks in no small part to your continued dedication and activism, starting today, Dobbs no longer has that platform.

Watch a video highlighting our efforts against Dobbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5wUEe8m_E

In July, Dobbs followed up years of trafficking in fact-free, racially charged conspiracy theories by promoting "birther" paranoia about President Obama's birth certificate on CNN's airwaves. In response, thousands of you signed our petition and sent emails calling on CNN president Jon Klein to address CNN's Lou Dobbs problem. In August, after CNN tried to sweep the issue under the rug, your generosity helped us raise enough money to air an ad calling on the network to credibly address the issue. After CNN rejected the ad, it aired on MSNBC.

In September, in partnership with NDN, America's Voice, the National Council of La Raza, LULAC, and more than a dozen other prominent progressive, Hispanic, and civil rights groups, we launched DropDobbs.com, which placed new focus on Dobbs' ongoing hate speech and misinformation. After CNN still refused to address its Dobbs problem, you once again generously helped us raise enough money to air an ad made with our friends at America's Voice. Yet again, CNN refused to air the ad, but the message we sent was clear:The American people had had enough of Dobbs' hate speech, and we weren't going to drop the issue.

Today, thanks to your efforts and the work of our partners, Dobbs can no longer use CNN as a platform to pursue his dangerous, one-sided, and often conspiracy-tinged crusade against immigrants. This is a happy day for those who care about our nation of immigrants and believe in the power of media to elevate the political discourse.

Yet, while this is a great day for our efforts, our work to hold the media accountable is by no means over. Earlier this week we launched a petition calling on Rupert Murdoch to apologize for agreeing with Fox News demagogue Glenn Beck's outrageous claim that President Obama is "a racist." As usual, you responded to our call to action with fervor. Nearly 10,000 people have signed the petition in less than 48 hours. On Tuesday night, a News Corp. spokesman told the Politico that Murdoch "does not at all, for a minute, think the president is a racist." Clearly, this statement does not square with Murdoch's own words from the interview. If you haven't had a chance to sign the petition calling on Murdoch to apologize, please take a moment to do so now:

mediamatters.org/action/murdochapology

Thank you for your continued help in holding the media accountable. As today powerfully demonstrates, when we work together, we can create real, lasting change.



Eric Burns
President
Media Matters for America

P.S. -- Don't forget to watch the video highlighting our efforts against Dobbs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5wUEe8m_E. Please consider donating to help us keep up the fight against conservative misinformation: https://mediamatters.org/donate