Title: Getting Immigration Facts Straight
Summary: This Intelligence Report by Heidi Bierich shows errors in the media. Often times information gets skewed which is unfortunate because a lot of media shapes public opinion. This report focuses on Lou Dobb’s and CNN and also the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, and some recent errors in their reports involving immigration and the effects of immigration on American society.
Category: Institutional
What is it? Intelligence report that breaks down some misconceptions that the media reports as fact involving immigration.
Publication Information: Summer 2007
Author: Heidi Beirich
Location: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?sid=415
Accessed: 2/23/09
Support: CNN, Lou Dobbs, Fox News, Bill O’Reilly, National Opinion Research Center, The Public Policy Institute of California, Terry Anderson, Robert Rector-senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Pew Hispanic Center. The San Francisco Chronicle.
A lot of the immigration news reported by Lou Dobbs on CNN, and Bill O’Reilly on Fox News is not entirely true. The conservative Heritage Foundation often times provides these news networks with skewed information. The National Opinion Research Center polled public opinion regarding immigration and found that 60 % of U.S. citizens believe that immigrants cost native-born Americans jobs. These opinions may be an effect from misleading information reported in the news. Many of the sources listed above provide evidence that the facts are not always reported by CNN and Fox News.
Audience and Agenda: The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Alabama. According to quantcast.com, splcenter.org website receives roughly 58,600 views a month. They are a non-profit organization who receive their financial support through donor contributions. They stand for justice and equality and work to make the Constitution a reality.
Usefulness
This is a useful report because the is shows the errors in the media. The media are extremely powerful in shaping public opinion. It would seem likely that if CNN and Fox News reported that immigration costs American taxpayers money through social services, most people would believe that to be the truth. This is a common misconception in the news. Illegal immigrants actually improve the American economy by paying taxes for social services that they cannot receive themselves because of their illegal status. If the Department of Homeland Security cracked down on the employers, then the economy may suffer if there is no route for legal status in place for the immigrants.
Works cited: Google, Southern Poverty Law Center, Quantcast,
[...] Source Notes #20 (Institutional) [...]