Media Matters for America

Media Matters for America is a research organization at 800 Maine Avenue SW in Washington, DC. Its IRS ruling date is May 2004, the same month it launched (EIN 47-0928008). For the 2023 tax year it reported total revenue of $19.6 million and total assets of$20.0 million.

Stated mission

Media Matters describes itself as “a web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” It defines the misinformation it targets as “news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda.”

Method

The organization states that at its 2004 launch it put in place “for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation … every day, in real time.” Its output is organised as rapid-response items alongside longer research and analytic reports, published on mediamatters.org as the principal vehicle, and it notifies its audience and journalists directly.

Relevance to digital political discourse

Media Matters was built around continuous monitoring of broadcast and online political media rather than periodic reports, and its site is structured accordingly: news and analysis, research and studies, audio and video clips, and an archive. Its published items are typically a short clip or transcript excerpt with commentary attached.