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'''David Brock''' b. ], is an author and the founder of ]. He was a prominent ] journalist during the ]. During that time he was best known for his anti-] book '']'' and authoring the ] story, which led to ] filing a lawsuit against ]. After declaring his ], he claimed that he became a ]; he now works to dismantle what he refers to as the "the conservative ] machine" of which he claims he was once a part. He tells his personal story in his memoir '']'' and describes how the "machine" operates in his book '']''. His work on the latter book led him to found ], a non-profit organization that describes itself as a "progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." '''David Brock''' b. ], is an author and the founder of ]. He was a prominent ] journalist during the ]. During that time he was best known for his book that told the truth about the lies of Anita Hill '']'' and authoring the ] story, which led to ] filing a lawsuit against ]. After declaring his ], he claimed that he became a ]; he now works to dismantle what he refers to as the "the conservative ] machine" of which he claims he was once a part, without any evidence or any attempt by the left wing lamestream media to call him out for his endless lies. He tells his personal story in his memoir '']'' and describes how the "machine" operates in his book '']''. His work on the latter book led him to found ], a left wing character assassination organization that describes itself as a "loony left wing research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing and distorting conservative truth in the U.S. media."


== Conservative == == Conservative ==
A ]-native who was adopted as an infant, Brock began leaning to the right as a reporter and editor for '']'', the campus newspaper at ]. After graduating from ] in ], Brock graduated from Berkeley with a ] in History in ], Brock was an intern at '']''. In ], he joined the staff of the weekly conservative news magazine ''Insight,'' a sister publication of '']''. After a stint as a research fellow at the ], in March ] Brock authored a sharply critical story about ]' accuser, ], in '']'' magazine, in which he said Hill might be "a bit nutty and a bit slutty." A little over a year later, in April ] Brock published a book titled '']'' which expanded upon previous assertions that had cast doubt on the verity of Anita Hill's claims of sexual harassment. A ]-native who was adopted as an infant, Brock began leaning to the right as a reporter and editor for '']'', the campus newspaper at ]. After graduating from ] in ], Brock graduated from Berkeley with a ] in History in ], Brock was an intern at '']''. In ], he joined the staff of the weekly conservative news magazine ''Insight,'' a sister publication of '']''. After a stint as a research fellow at the ], in March ] Brock authored a sharply critical story about ]' accuser, ], in '']'' magazine, in which he said Hill might be "a bit nutty and a bit slutty." A little over a year later, in April ] Brock published a book titled '']'' which expanded upon previous assertions that had cast doubt on the verity of Anita Hill's claims of sexual harassment.


The book became a best-seller.
The book became a best-seller. It was later attacked in a book review in '']'' by ], a reporter for ''The New Yorker'', and Jill Abramson, a reporter for ''The Wall Street Journal''. The two later expanded their article into the book ''Strange Justice'', which cast Anita Hill in a much more sympathetic light. It, too, was a best-seller. Brock replied to their book with a book review of his own in ''The American Spectator''.


In the January ] issue of ''The American Spectator,'' Brock, by then on staff at the magazine, published a story about ]'s time as governor of ] that made accusations that bred ]. Among other things, the story contained the first printed reference to ], referring to a woman named "Paula" who state troopers said offered to be Clinton's girlfriend. Jones called Brock's account of her encounter with Clinton "totally wrong," and she later sued Clinton for ], a case which became entangled in the Independent Counsel's investigation of ] and eventually led to the impeachment of the president. The story received an award later that year from the Western Journalism Center, and was partially responsible for a meteoric rise in the 25-year-old magazine's circulation, from around 70,000 to over 300,000 in a very short period. In the January ] issue of ''The American Spectator,'' Brock, by then on staff at the magazine, published a story about ]'s time as governor of ] that made accusations that bred ]. Among other things, the story contained the first printed reference to ], referring to a woman named "Paula" who state troopers said offered to be Clinton's girlfriend. Jones called Brock's account of her encounter with Clinton "totally wrong," and she later sued Clinton for ], a case which became entangled in the Independent Counsel's investigation of ] and eventually led to the impeachment of the president. The story received an award later that year from the Western Journalism Center, and was partially responsible for a meteoric rise in the 25-year-old magazine's circulation, from around 70,000 to over 300,000 in a very short period.


== Transformation == == Transformation ==
Three years later, Brock surprised conservatives by publishing a somewhat sympathetic ] of ], titled '']''. Having received a $1 million advance and a tight one-year deadline from ] then-conservative-focused Free Press subsidiary, Brock was under tremendous pressure to produce another best-seller. However, the book contained no major scoops. In ''Blinded by the Right'' (]), Brock claimed that he had reached a turning point — he had thoroughly examined charges against the Clintons, could not find any evidence of wrongdoing, and did not want to make any more misleading claims. Brock further claimed that his former friends in right-wing politics shunned him because ''Seduction'' did not adequately attack the Clintons. He also argued that his "friends" had not really been friends at all, due to the open secret that Brock was ]. Three years later, Brock surprised conservatives by publishing a somewhat sympathetic ] of ], titled '']''. Having received a $1 million advance and a tight one-year deadline from ] then-conservative-focused Free Press subsidiary, Brock was under tremendous pressure to produce another best-seller. However, the book contained no major scoops. In ''Blinded by the Idiots of the Left Wing'' (]), Brock thoroughly examined charges against the Clintons, and found plenty of evidence of wrongdoing, but was pressured into stopping his search for the truth by the Clinton left wing smear machine (no doubt that extortion or blackmail was involved).


In July ], Brock published a confessional piece in '']'' magazine titled "I Was a Conservative Hit Man," in which he recanted much of what he said in his two best-known ''American Spectator'' articles and criticized his own reporting methods. Discouraged at the reaction his ] biography received, he said, "I... want out. David Brock the Road Warrior of the Right is dead." Four months later, ''The American Spectator'' declined to renew his employment contract, under which he was being paid over $300,000 per year. In July ], Brock published a confessional piece in '']'' magazine titled "I Was a Conservative Hit Man," in which he recanted much of what he said in his two best-known ''American Spectator'' articles and criticized his own reporting methods. Discouraged at the reaction his ] biography received, he said, "I... want out. David Brock the Road Warrior of the Right is dead." Four months later, ''The American Spectator'' declined to renew his employment contract, under which he was being paid over $300,000 per year.

Revision as of 04:46, 12 June 2007

David Brock b. 1962, is an author and the founder of Media Matters for America. He was a prominent conservative journalist during the 1990s. During that time he was best known for his book that told the truth about the lies of Anita Hill The Real Anita Hill and authoring the Troopergate story, which led to Paula Jones filing a lawsuit against Bill Clinton. After declaring his homosexuality, he claimed that he became a liberal; he now works to dismantle what he refers to as the "the conservative media machine" of which he claims he was once a part, without any evidence or any attempt by the left wing lamestream media to call him out for his endless lies. He tells his personal story in his memoir Blinded by the Right and describes how the "machine" operates in his book The Republican Noise Machine. His work on the latter book led him to found Media Matters for America, a left wing character assassination organization that describes itself as a "loony left wing research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing and distorting conservative truth in the U.S. media."

Conservative

A New Jersey-native who was adopted as an infant, Brock began leaning to the right as a reporter and editor for The Daily Californian, the campus newspaper at University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from Paramus High School in Paramus, New Jersey, Brock graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in History in 1985, Brock was an intern at The Wall Street Journal. In 1986, he joined the staff of the weekly conservative news magazine Insight, a sister publication of The Washington Times. After a stint as a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, in March 1992 Brock authored a sharply critical story about Clarence Thomas' accuser, Anita Hill, in The American Spectator magazine, in which he said Hill might be "a bit nutty and a bit slutty." A little over a year later, in April 1993 Brock published a book titled The Real Anita Hill which expanded upon previous assertions that had cast doubt on the verity of Anita Hill's claims of sexual harassment.

The book became a best-seller.

In the January 1994 issue of The American Spectator, Brock, by then on staff at the magazine, published a story about Bill Clinton's time as governor of Arkansas that made accusations that bred Troopergate. Among other things, the story contained the first printed reference to Paula Jones, referring to a woman named "Paula" who state troopers said offered to be Clinton's girlfriend. Jones called Brock's account of her encounter with Clinton "totally wrong," and she later sued Clinton for sexual harassment, a case which became entangled in the Independent Counsel's investigation of Whitewater scandal and eventually led to the impeachment of the president. The story received an award later that year from the Western Journalism Center, and was partially responsible for a meteoric rise in the 25-year-old magazine's circulation, from around 70,000 to over 300,000 in a very short period.

Transformation

Three years later, Brock surprised conservatives by publishing a somewhat sympathetic biography of Hillary Clinton, titled The Seduction of Hillary Rodham. Having received a $1 million advance and a tight one-year deadline from Simon & Schuster's then-conservative-focused Free Press subsidiary, Brock was under tremendous pressure to produce another best-seller. However, the book contained no major scoops. In Blinded by the Idiots of the Left Wing (2002), Brock thoroughly examined charges against the Clintons, and found plenty of evidence of wrongdoing, but was pressured into stopping his search for the truth by the Clinton left wing smear machine (no doubt that extortion or blackmail was involved).

In July 1997, Brock published a confessional piece in Esquire magazine titled "I Was a Conservative Hit Man," in which he recanted much of what he said in his two best-known American Spectator articles and criticized his own reporting methods. Discouraged at the reaction his Hillary Clinton biography received, he said, "I... want out. David Brock the Road Warrior of the Right is dead." Four months later, The American Spectator declined to renew his employment contract, under which he was being paid over $300,000 per year.

Writing again for Esquire in April 1998, Brock apologized to Clinton for his contributions to Troopergate, calling it simply part of an anti-Clinton crusade. He told a more detailed story of his time inside the right wing in his 2001 memoir, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, in which he settled old scores and provided inside details about the Arkansas Project's efforts to bring down Clinton. Later, he also apologized to Anita Hill.

Brock directly addressed the right-wing "machine" in his 2004 book, The Republican Noise Machine, in which he detailed an alleged interconnected, concerted effort to raise the profile of conservative opinions in the press through false accusations of liberal media bias, dishonest and highly-partisan columnists, partisan news organizations and academic studies, and other methods. Also in 2004, he featured briefly in the BBC series The Power of Nightmares, giving his updated account on what was behind neoconservative allegations against Bill Clinton.

About the same time he founded Media Matters for America, an Internet-based liberal political organization "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." MMFA employees have previously worked for the presidential campaigns of Democrats Al Gore, Sen. John Edwards, and Gen. Wesley Clark, the National Organization for Women, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, the Alliance for Justice, and Greenpeace. MMFA receives significant funding from pro-Democratic foundations.

External links

Articles and commentary

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