Media Matters for America on immigration "myths" ("Fear and Loathing in Prime Time")

Media Matters for America offers a "report" called "Fear and Loathing in Prime Time/Immigration Myths and Cable News" (mediamattersaction.org/reports/fearandloathing/online_version). It attempts to address some of the "myths" supposedly promulgated by Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. Not only that, but members of Congress are involved in helping them push their support for illegal activity:

On Wednesday, May 21, Media Matters Action Network, along with several members of Congress and prominent immigration groups, held a press conference to discuss "Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News." Participants included: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ); Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL); Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA); Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza; and Frank Sharry of America's Voice.

The first issue with their report is that it switches between discussing illegal immigration and all forms or the legal variety of immigration, a common trick.

The second is that their discussion of the NAFTA Superhighway - something they label simply an "urban myth" - includes them admitting that such a highway exists already as a set of current routes. Like others they take low-level Bush administration employees at their word rather than questioning whether they're telling the truth or not. They also take the word of NASCO that there are no plans to extend the TransTexas Corridor past Texas, something that's clearly false. Apparently the only thing that would confirm the NSH in MMFA's mind is if there were secret construction plans to build a TTC-style highway across the U.S. Their discussion of this issue puts MMFA on the side of the Bush administration and others who seek to confuse the public about this issue. They also might want to check with Barack Obama.

More later, but please leave other issues with the report in comments.

UPDATE: From this:

Three Democratic lawmakers who spoke at a briefing Wednesday about alleged anti-immigrant media coverage were not aware of a recent State Department travel alert warning Americans about military-like "combat" along the southern U.S. border in Mexico and that Americans are being kidnapped and murdered there.

Solis said:

"I've read different reports of the violence in Mexico, and I am a strong advocate for cracking down on the violence, and I'm very concerned about the murder of women... But I'm more concerned about people having their civil rights violated here."

And:

Gutierrez blamed drug use in the United States for some of the violence... "We are the consumers," he said. "We are the cause."

UPDATE 2: The authors of the report are: Paul Waldman, Elbert Ventura, Robert Savillo, Susan Lin, and Greg Lewis.

There's video of the press conference here. On May 27, 2008, Hilda Solis spoke with NPR about the event; audio here. A partial transcript is here:

NPR: ...Some people raise the question is it really appropriate for elected officials to be trying shape news coverage? Isn’t that a slippery slope?

SOLIS: I don’t know that we’re really trying to shape it. I think what we’re saying is be balanced about it. Show the other side of the evidence and report accurately, and I think that’s where we’re really going. Why don’t we see more Latinos in the media? Why don’t you see any other commentators that can talk about our positive experience? Why does it always have to be shown in a negative light or used whenever there’s a crime "Latino of origin" or something that really depicts color and ethnicity as opposed to a person? I think it’s a civil rights issue.

Immigration2008a · Wed, 05/21/2008 - 10:55 · · Importance: 14