May, 20 2009, 11:30am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Erikka Knuti (202) 756-4135
eknuti@mediamatters.org
Jessica Levin (202) 772-8162
jlevin@mediamatters.org
Media Matters Launches Redesigned Website
Progressive Media Watchdog Beefs Up Online Presence
WASHINGTON
Media Matters for America has unveiled a major redesign of
its official website, MediaMatters.org,
revealing a new, more user-friendly layout and a page for personalized content.
Along with the redesigned website, efforts were already under way to enhance Media Matters' presence on important
social-media networks and to engage the online community with new tools
designed to spark conversation and action.
"Media Matters has always strived to stay
on the cutting edge of Internet technology to engage the public in our mission
to fight conservative misinformation and remain the leading progressive media
watchdog," said Eric Burns, President of Media Matters. "The
launch of our redesigned website is a testament to that."
Some of
the new features at the new MediaMatters.org
include:
- NEW Layout: MediaMatters.org is now broken into more
useful, understandable sections. All video clips are on our MMtv page, up-to-the-minute commentary can be found on our newly
enhanced media blog, County Fair, and day-to-day breaking
research is gathered on our Latest
Research page.
- NEW Personalized Content: At
MyMediaMatters,
users can set up customized email alerts and RSS feeds, manage email subscriptions, and track conversations from the various
comments sections on the website. So, if all you want is new research on Bill
O'Reilly, The New York Times, or climate change, for example, you can sign
up to receive emails or an RSS feed tailored specifically to those subjects.
- Video:
Since the beginning of the year, Media Matters' embeddable video players (also
known as MMtv) have been viewed tens of millions of times both on the Media Matters website and on other
blogs and websites. Media Matters has
also made tremendous inroads on YouTube. This
month alone, two Media Matters YouTube videos, Fox Crops and 100 Days of "Fair
& Balanced" have
generated more than 200,000
and 150,000 views, respectively -- significant
milestones, indeed.
- Social Networks: Since the beginning of the year, membership
on Media Matters' Facebook
fanpage has grown by 1,500 percent, while Media
Matters' Twitter following has grown by more
than 1,000 percent. Media Matters
content is being "re-tweeted" by
thousands of people to their own personal networks, reaching an exponential audience each month.
To
visit Media Matters'
redesigned website, please visit:
Media Matters for America is 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.
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"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives," Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said earlier this week.
Dec 12, 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
But the president's sweeping use of his clemency power as his term nears its conclusion did not appear to extend to any of the 40 men currently on death row—some of whom have been there for decades.
According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
"That is why, today, I am pardoning 39 people who have shown successful rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities stronger and safer," the president said. "I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who are serving long prison sentences—many of whom would receive lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies, and practices. These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the Covid pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance."
Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
But he's running out of time, human rights organizations, religious leaders, former federal judges, and progressive lawmakers have warned in recent days as they've ramped up pressure on Biden to act.
"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives and make good on his campaign promise to address the federal death penalty before leaving office," Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said at a press conference earlier this week. "With the incoming administration planning to execute the 40 individuals on death row, we're calling on the president to use his clemency authority to commute their death sentences and resentence them to a prison term."
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Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
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The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
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Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
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As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
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