We – local center-right bloggers – spend a lot of time beating on the Minnesota Monitor, the local group leftyblog funded by a variety of liberals with deep pockets.
Part of it, of course, is the extremely shoddy level of “Journalism” that some of their “citizen journalists” – who were, at last report, paid $1,500 a month for their efforts, a princely sum in the world of blogs – exhibit, as well as their seeming unwillingness to follow their own “Code of Ethics” – itself a matter of longstanding derision.
But at the end of the day, it’s all about following the money. Minnesota Monitor is funded by a group called the Center for Independent Media, a group that started life sharing offices with the George Soros-funded attack-PR firm “Media Matters for America”. They initially denied any connection (and the CIM eventually relocated its offices) – but the Monitor and the CIM has been pretty mum about its funding.
Which doesn’t mean the truth isn’t out there somewhere.
Learned Foot at KAR has been doing some digging:
Well, wonder no longer! While MinnMon and CIM aren’t forthcoming about their sources of income, at least we now know where $100,000 of it came from:
$100,000 to the Center for Independent Media. This grant will support the Center’s efforts to strengthen its New Journalist Program by establishing a national branch in Washington, DC. The fellowship program, with operations currently in Colorado, Minnesota and Iowa, mentors and trains state-based political news bloggers in investigative reporting with the aim of creating a robust corps of citizen journalists to add diversity and local expertise to media coverage of important issues. Fellows serving in the New Journalist Washington DC Program will focus their coverage on Congress, federal agencies, the presidency, Supreme Court and the influence of lobbying, the national press corps and campaign finance.
From the Sunlight Foundation! And what is the Sunlight Foundation’s raison d’etre?
Transparency! In government!
If a website actively rejects transparancy in the woods and nobody hears them…
…no, wait. Foot is fixing that.
And I don’t think he’s done yet.
UPDATE: Either is Jeff “El Jeffe” Kouba, who’s dug a little further still.
“Learned Foot at KAR has been doing some digging:”
Holy Crap, what’s a guy got to do to get a hat tip?
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I had it before you left your comment and Mitch has the e-mail to prove it.
“Center-right bloggers” I’m suprised the Greasepaint Kid didn’t jump all over that one.
Don’t need to prove it…..
I’d still like to know the tax status of CIM. Can a 501(c)(3) give money to a 527? Doesn’t seem right.
Master asked:
“I’d still like to know the tax status of CIM. Can a 501(c)(3) give money to a 527? Doesn’t seem right.”
Well, Foot is onna them fancy law-talking guys so he should know the answer to this question.
He didn’t waste 5 grand on his degree from the Hollywood Upstairs Law School for nothin’.
Great work!
Tsk,tsk
Among the facts uncovered that I see right away is Jeffrey Fecke in the Minnesota branch can’t follow directions from DC very well.
“Fellows serving in the New Journalist Washington DC Program will focus their coverage on Congress, federal agencies, the presidency, Supreme Court and the influence of lobbying, the national press corps and campaign finance. ”
Nowhere do I see those “serving in the New Journalist Washington DC Program will lurk in the comments sections of local bloggers.”
Nowhere do I see those “serving in the New Journalist Washington DC Program will lurk in the comments sections of local bloggers.”
No, he does that in his off time.
Fecky is not in the DC program. We’re stuck with him here in MN.
If CIM is a 501(c)(3), then Fecke’s latest post
http://www.minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2086
violates IRS regulations against a 501(c)(3) from distributing campaign statements.
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