Media Matters for America is crying foul over allegations by former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson that the liberal media watchdog was paid to target her.
Miss Attkisson suggested on CNN Monday that Media Matters “clearly” targeted her for reporting negatively about the Obama administration, adding, “I don’t know if someone paid them to do it or they just took it on their own.”
Media Matters chalked Miss Attkisson’s claims up to “evidence-free speculation,” and now the group’s chairman is demanding she either provide evidence for her statements or retract them.
“We have never taken contributions to target you or any other reporter,” David Brock wrote in an email to Miss Attkisson, as reported by Talking Points Memo. “And it is completely unfathomable to me why you decided to make this serious charge — which has attracted wide media attention — without a shred of evidence to back you up.”
“Professional journalists don’t go on national television and make up allegations even against their critics,” he continued. “If you have such evidence to show that Media Matters was paid to target you. I ask that you publicly release it. If you have no evidence to back up your charge, I ask that you publicly apologize and correct your false claims against us.”
A spokeswoman for Media Matters told TPM that Miss Attkisson had yet to respond to the email as of Tuesday morning.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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