In a Washington Times op-ed, conservative media consultant Phil Kent made a series of false claims about the sources of Media Matters' funding, some of which had been debunked previously, including the incorrect assertion that George Soros has given money to Media Matters.
Wash. Times op-ed expanded on O'Reilly's false attacks on Soros and Media Matters
Published
In a May 8 Washington Times op-ed, conservative media consultant Phil Kent claimed that “few journalists dare to criticize” Media Matters for America “or its bankrollers for fear of inviting attacks upon themselves.” Kent repeated the debunked claim -- recently propagated by Fox News host Bill O'Reilly -- that philanthropist George Soros funds Media Matters through the Tides Foundation, the Democracy Alliance, and the Center for American Progress so that he might “manipulate[] the media by stifling and smearing center-right political voices.” As Media Matters has explained several times, Soros has never given money to Media Matters, either directly or through another organization.
On the April 26 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly claimed Media Matters' denial of receiving funding from Soros “is a total lie,” noting that the Tides Foundation donated over $1 million to Media Matters in 2005. O'Reilly further stated that “just by coincidence Soros' Open Society Institute [OSI] donated more than a million dollars to Tides in 2005,” adding: “Figure it out.” Kent expanded on O'Reilly's theory, claiming that “the Open Society Institute has given over $17 million to the Tides Foundation between 2001 and 2005. Tides then shamelessly turns around and grants MediaMatters $3.3 million between 2003 to 2005 (the latest available years its tax returns are available).” In fact, OSI's IRS 990 forms (to which Kent referred; see PDF screenshots below) show that every dollar OSI granted to Tides from 2001 to 2005 was earmarked for specific Tides-related programs and entities, and that Media Matters was not included on the list.
Also, Kent's claim that OSI gave Tides “over $17 million” from 2001 to 2005 is incorrect, according to the 990s, which show that from 2001 to 2005, OSI approved grants to Tides Foundation programs or entities totaling $13,216,947.71. Of those grants, all were paid in full in that time period except for a May 23, 2005, grant to the Death Penalty Mobilization Fund for $150,000, of which $75,000 was paid in 2005. Several grants were paid over the course of two to three years. These grants, however, appeared in the 990s for the years they were approved and for the years in which they were paid, (i.e., a $595,000 grant approved in 2001 and paid in 2002 appeared in two 990 forms). It is possible that in arriving at his total, Kent failed to account for the fact that the same grants appeared in separate 990s. However, even if one were to assume that they did represent new grants, the total is still just over $16.1 million.
Kent continued: “The leftist Center for American Progress receives grants from Tides and Mr. Soros and, you guessed it, funnels it into MediaMatters. And yet another group called the Democracy Alliance, funded by Mr. Soros and other limousine liberals, donates to MediaMatters.” According to the available 990s, OSI issued just two grants to the Center for American Progress (CAP), both in 2005 (990 screenshot here). According to the 2005 990 form, OSI granted $150,000 to CAP's Faith and Public Life Resource Center; and approved, but did not pay, a $110,000 grant to Campus Progress. Media Matters received no funding from CAP in 2005.
Media Matters has also received no funding from the Democracy Alliance, which does not itself make grants. Democracy Alliance founder Rob Stein explained during a November 30, 2006, forum hosted by the Hudson Institute titled “How Vast the Left Wing Conspiracy?”:
STEIN: It's very important to understand that the Alliance does not take in any money to distribute to groups. The money we take in pays our administrative costs. We are not a 501(c)(3). We are a taxable nonprofit organization. We recommend to our partners, and our partners then make decisions which organizations to support, and they are fully informed -- we have very good counsel -- of all the legal requirements of disclosure and limitations that come with supporting any of those types of vehicles.
The Washington Post reported on July 17, 2006, that the Democracy Alliance “endorse[s]” specific organizations and serves as a “cooperative for donors, allowing them to coordinate their giving so that it has more influence.”
While Soros is identified as a member of the Democracy Alliance, he has never given money to Media Matters through the alliance or otherwise.
According to Kent's bio on PhilKent.com: “A veteran award-winning journalist, Phil was an editorial writer, editorial page editor, and political columnist for The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle for 25 years. In 1981-82, Phil served in Washington, D.C., as press secretary and public affairs advisor to the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.). After his tour of duty in the nation's capital, he returned to The Augusta Chronicle as editorial page editor and traveled extensively around the globe and filed columns.”