Times Square Billboards: ‘Don’t Believe the Liberal Media!’
By Michael W. Chapman
February 21, 2012
Subscribe to Michael W. Chapman's posts

billboards, tell the truth

Billboards that read, "Don't Believe the Liberal Media!" were posted in Times Square by the watchdog group, Media Research Center, Feb. 21, 2012. (Photo courtesy MRC.)

(CNSNews.com) – The Media Research Center (MRC), a watchdog group that tracks liberal bias in the news, had two massive billboards erected in New York City’s Times Square on Tuesday. The billboards say “Don’t Believe the Liberal Media!” and they are expected to be viewed by 1.3 million onlookers over the next four weeks, according to the MRC.

“There is no better location for this billboard than the liberal media’s own backyard,” said MRC President Brent Bozell in a statement. “We promised this 2012 campaign would be the most expansive, most exhaustive and consequently the most expensive operation in our 25 years. We will keep that promise because this is the most important election in our lifetime and the American people are sick and tired of the left-wing media deciding who will govern our country.”

(Disclosure: The MRC is the parent organization of CNSNews.com.)

The 2012 campaign mentioned by Bozell is the organization’s “Tell The Truth! 2012” project, which was launched in late January and will continue until the end of the year. The purpose of the campaign, estimated to cost $5 million total, is to make Americans aware of instances of apparent liberal bias in the news media, as documented by the MRC, and to make the issue of liberal media bias part of the national conversation this election year.

The billboards rented in Times Square total 1,684 square feet in size and they are the largest ad buy ($180,000) in the MRC’s 25-year history. In addition to the message, “don’t Believe the Liberal Media!” the signs also display the campaign’s Web site, TellTheTruth2012.org.

Billboards with the same message are planned for Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., to run during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions later this year.

In addition to the billboards, the MRC is distributing hundreds of thousands of hand-held signs, buttons, bumper stickers, and related items at myriad political news events across the nation, including some of the Republican primaries, congressional events on Capitol Hill, and at speeches by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
billboard, mrc, tell the truth

When launching the “Tell The Truth! 2012” campaign in late January, Bozell said in a video announcement, “It’s time for Americans to declare once and for all that the left wing so-called news media are no longer going to pick winners and losers. It’s time for Americans to demand of our news media that they return to the business of reporting – accurately, fairly, honestly.”

“Our goal is not – and I underscore this – our goal is not to do what they do, which is to attempt to elect or defeat a candidate," said Bozell. "We want a level playing field. We want the rules to apply to both sides. If you are going to have hard-hitting investigative reporting on one side, perfect. Then have hard-hitting investigative reporting on the other.”

However, he continued, “This is our message to the left-wing so-called news media: To the degree you try to tilt this election, we'll be there documenting, exposing, and neutralizing your efforts. The reason you're losing your audiences by the millions is because of your bias. You may continue at your own peril. Fasten your seatbelt, folks, we're coming after you."