Andrew Breitbart
Encyclopedia
Andrew Breitbart (ˈbraɪtbɑrt; born February 1, 1969) is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report
website. He was a researcher for Arianna Huffington
, and helped launch her website, The Huffington Post
.
He currently runs his own news aggregation site, Breitbart.com, and five other websites: Breitbart.tv, Big Hollywood, Big Government, Big Journalism, and Big Peace.
liberal views, in upscale Brentwood, Los Angeles. He was raised Jewish
(his adoptive mother had converted to Judaism
when marrying his adoptive father). He explains that his birth certificate indicates his biological father was a folk singer, and that he is ethnically Irish by birth. His adopted sister is Hispanic
. He changed his political views after experiencing an "epiphany
" during the Clarence Thomas
hearings, and now describes himself as "a Reagan
conservative" with libertarian
sympathies.
Breitbart earned a B.A.
in American studies
from Tulane University
in 1991, graduating with "no sense of [his] future whatsoever". His early jobs included a stint at cable
channel E! Entertainment Television, working for the company's online magazine
, and some time in film production.
and was so impressed that he emailed Matt Drudge
. Breitbart said, "I thought what he was doing was by far the coolest thing on the Internet. And I still do." Breitbart described himself as "Matt Drudge’s bitch" and selected and posted links to other news wire sources. Later Matt Drudge introduced him to Arianna Huffington
(when she was still a Republican
) and Breitbart subsequently assisted her (after she became a progressive
) in creating her website.
Breitbart's work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, National Review Online and the Weekly Standard Online, among others. He writes a weekly column for The Washington Times
, which also appears at Real Clear Politics. Breitbart also co-wrote the book Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon
with Mark Ebner
, a book that is highly critical of U.S. celebrity culture
. On January 19, 2011, the conservative gay rights
group GOProud
announced Breitbart had joined its Advisory Council.
In April 2011 Grand Central Publishing released Breitbart's book, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, in which he discusses his own political evolution and the part he took in the rise of new media
, most notably at the Drudge Report and The Huffington Post.
In June 2011 Breitbart was involved in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
, posting photographs of Weiner on his websites.
and Dennis Miller
. In 2004 he was a guest commentator on Fox News Channel's
morning show and frequently appears as a guest panelist on Fox News's late night program, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
. Breitbart also appeared as a commentator in the 2004 documentary Michael Moore Hates America
.
On October 22, 2009, Breitbart appeared on the C-SPAN
program Washington Journal
. He gave his opinions on the mainstream media, Hollywood, the Obama Administration
and his personal political views, having heated debates with several callers.
In the hours immediately following Senator Ted Kennedy
's death, Breitbart called Kennedy a "villain", a "duplicitous bastard", a "prick" and "a special pile of human excrement
."
In February 2010 Breitbart received the Reed Irvine
Accuracy in Media
Award during the Conservative Political Action Conference
in Washington, D.C.
During his acceptance speech, he responded directly to accusations by New York Times reporter Kate Zernike that Jason Mattera
, a young conservative activist, had been using "racial tones
" in his allusions to President Barack Obama
, and had spoken in a "Chris Rock
voice." From the podium, Breitbart called Zernike "a despicable human being" for having made such allegations about Mattera's New York accent.
events across the U.S. For example, Breitbart was a keynote speaker at the first National Tea Party Convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville on February 6, 2010. Breitbart later involved himself in a controversy over homophobic
and alleged racial
slurs being used at a March 20, 2010 rally at the United States Capitol
in Washington, D.C.
by asserting that slurs were never used, and that "It was a set-up" by Nancy Pelosi
and the Democratic Party. Breitbart offered to donate $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund
"for any audio/video footage of the N-word
being hurled", claiming that they made it up. Breitbart insisted Congressman John Lewis and the several other witnesses were forced to lie, concluding that "Nancy Pelosi did a great disservice to a great civil rights icon by thrusting him out there to perform this mischievous task. His reputation is now on the line as a result of her desperation to take down the Tea Party movement."
Breitbart launched his first website as a news site; it is sometimes linked to by the Drudge Report
and other websites. It features wire stories from the Associated Press
, Reuters
, Agence France-Presse
, Fox News, PR Newswire
, and U.S. Newswire, as well as direct links to a number of major international newspapers. Its Blog & "Network" links tend to run to the right within the U.S. political spectrum (e.g., National Review
and Townhall.com
). The site also features a search engine
powered by Lingospot and a finance channel powered by FinancialContent
. In 2007, Breitbart launched a video blog, Breitbart.tv.
In 2008 Breitbart launched the website "Big Hollywood," a "group blog" driven by some who work within Los Angeles
, featuring contributions from a variety of writers, including politically conservative entertainment-industry professionals. The site, an outgrowth of the column "Big Hollywood" that Breitbart wrote for the Washington Times, addresses issues facing conservatives who work in Hollywood. In 2009, the site used audio from a secretly recorded conference call to accuse the National Endowment of the Arts of encouraging artists to create work in support of Barack Obama's domestic policy agenda.
Breitbart launched BigGovernment.com on September 10, 2009. He hired Mike Flynn, a former government affairs specialist at Reason Foundation
, as Editor-in-Chief of Big Government. The site premiered with hidden camera video footage taken by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe
at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
offices in various cities, attracting nationwide attention resulting in the ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy
.
In January 2010, Breitbart launched Big Journalism. He told Mediaite
: "Our goal at Big Journalism is to hold the mainstream media’s feet to the fire. There are a lot of stories that they simply don’t cover, either because it doesn’t fit their world view, or because they’re literally innocent of any knowledge that the story even exists, or because they are a dying organization, short-staffed, and thus can’t cover stuff like they did before." Big Journalism was edited by Michael A. Walsh
, a former journalism professor and Time magazine
music critic. It is now currently edited by Dana Loesch
. The site has a fictional contributor named "Retracto, the Correction Alpaca" who posts items requesting corrections from the traditional media.
BigPeace.com debuted July 4, 2010. The site covers topics such as international issues and foreign policy, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
, terrorism
, Islam
ic extremism, espionage
, border security, and energy issues.
, though Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission. Weiner subsequently resigned from his congressional seat on June 21, 2011.
on July 19. After Breitbart was criticized for taking Sherrod's words out of context, he posted the complete 40-minute video of the speech. The NAACP stated that the video excerpts aired by Breitbart were deliberately deceptive and said that he had "snookered" the group. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
later apologized to Sherrod and offered her a new job. In 2011, Sherrod brought suit against Breitbart for defamation.
. Hannah Giles posed as a prostitute seeking assistance while James O'Keefe
portrayed her boyfriend, and clandestinely videotaped meetings with ACORN
staff. Subsequent criminal investigations by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and the California Attorney General found the videos were heavily edited in an attempt to make ACORN's responses "appear more sinister", and contributed to the group's demise. Breitbart then provided a forum for O'Keefe on his BigGovernment.com website and defended his actions on Sean Hannity's
Fox News Channel
program.
group GOProud
in the Conservative Political Action Conference
(CPAC), an annual conference held in Washington, D.C. by the American Conservative Union
. In 2011 he was the primary host of a party that served to "welcome" the "homocons" to the convention (though it was the second year they had been participants). This flew in the face of a boycott staged by a few social conservative groups that were offended by the inclusion of GOProud within the conservative fold. Writer, producer, and publisher Roger L. Simon referred to the group as a "game-changer" for the Republican party, and asserted that it represented a turning point in the appeal that the conservative movement might hold for young people. Breitbart is now on the Advisory Board of GOProud
.
, and has four children.
Drudge Report
The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...
website. He was a researcher for Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
, and helped launch her website, The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
He currently runs his own news aggregation site, Breitbart.com, and five other websites: Breitbart.tv, Big Hollywood, Big Government, Big Journalism, and Big Peace.
Early life
Breitbart is the adopted son of Gerald and Arlene Breitbart, a restaurant owner and banker respectively, and grew up in a family with secularSecularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
liberal views, in upscale Brentwood, Los Angeles. He was raised Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
(his adoptive mother had converted to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
when marrying his adoptive father). He explains that his birth certificate indicates his biological father was a folk singer, and that he is ethnically Irish by birth. His adopted sister is Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
. He changed his political views after experiencing an "epiphany
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
" during the Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
hearings, and now describes himself as "a Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
conservative" with libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
sympathies.
Breitbart earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in 1991, graduating with "no sense of [his] future whatsoever". His early jobs included a stint at cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel E! Entertainment Television, working for the company's online magazine
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, and some time in film production.
Authorship, research and reporting
In 1995 Breitbart saw the Drudge ReportDrudge Report
The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...
and was so impressed that he emailed Matt Drudge
Matt Drudge
Matthew Nathan Drudge is the American creator and editor of the Drudge Report, a news aggregation website. Drudge is self-described as being conservative and populist. Drudge has also authored a book and hosted a radio show and a television show.-Early years:Matthew Drudge was raised in Takoma...
. Breitbart said, "I thought what he was doing was by far the coolest thing on the Internet. And I still do." Breitbart described himself as "Matt Drudge’s bitch" and selected and posted links to other news wire sources. Later Matt Drudge introduced him to Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
(when she was still a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) and Breitbart subsequently assisted her (after she became a progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
) in creating her website.
Breitbart's work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, National Review Online and the Weekly Standard Online, among others. He writes a weekly column for The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, which also appears at Real Clear Politics. Breitbart also co-wrote the book Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon
Hollywood, Interrupted
Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon - The Case Against Celebrity is the title of a book and website authored by Mark Ebner, with co-author Andrew Breitbart. The book was published in 2004 by John Wiley and Sons. The writing focuses primarily on what Ebner sees as the disconnected,...
with Mark Ebner
Mark Ebner
Mark Charles Ebner is an American investigative journalist and the host of TruTV's Rich and Reckless. Ebner writes primarily about issues in the Los Angeles area, including pit bull fighting in South Central, Scientology, and celebrity scandal. He has covered celebrity culture for Spy, Rolling...
, a book that is highly critical of U.S. celebrity culture
Celebrity culture
A celebrity culture is the structure that influences those deemed to be celebrities.-Brief history of celebrity culture:Any medium can be viewed as a vehicle for creating a celebrity culture. The famous religious books of the world's faiths are replete with examples of individuals who are well...
. On January 19, 2011, the conservative gay rights
LGBT conservatism
LGBT conservatism refers to a socio-political movement which embraces and promotes the ideology of conservatism within an LGBT context...
group GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
announced Breitbart had joined its Advisory Council.
In April 2011 Grand Central Publishing released Breitbart's book, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, in which he discusses his own political evolution and the part he took in the rise of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
, most notably at the Drudge Report and The Huffington Post.
In June 2011 Breitbart was involved in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
The Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, also dubbed Weinergate, began when Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner used the social media website Twitter to send a link to a sexually suggestive picture to a 21-year-old Washington State woman...
, posting photographs of Weiner on his websites.
Commentaries
Breitbart has appeared as a commentator on Real Time with Bill MaherReal Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous show, Politically Incorrect on ABC , Real Time features a panel of guests that discuss current events in politics and the media...
and Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
. In 2004 he was a guest commentator on Fox News Channel's
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
morning show and frequently appears as a guest panelist on Fox News's late night program, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld is a late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on the Fox News Channel, airing at 3:00 am ET Tuesday through Saturday. The show features panelists and guests discussing the latest news in politics, pop culture, entertainment, business, sports, and religion...
. Breitbart also appeared as a commentator in the 2004 documentary Michael Moore Hates America
Michael Moore Hates America
Michael Moore Hates America is a documentary film directed by Mike Wilson that criticizes director Michael Moore. It premiered September 12, 2004, in Dallas, Texas, at the American Film Renaissance film festival.-Details:...
.
On October 22, 2009, Breitbart appeared on the C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
program Washington Journal
Washington Journal
Washington Journal is an American television series on the C-SPAN network in the format of a political call-in and interview program. The program features elected officials, government administrators and journalists as guests, answering questions from the hosts and from members of the general...
. He gave his opinions on the mainstream media, Hollywood, the Obama Administration
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
and his personal political views, having heated debates with several callers.
In the hours immediately following Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
's death, Breitbart called Kennedy a "villain", a "duplicitous bastard", a "prick" and "a special pile of human excrement
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
."
In February 2010 Breitbart received the Reed Irvine
Reed Irvine
Reed Irvine was an economist who founded the media watchdog organization Accuracy in Media, and remained its head for 35 years....
Accuracy in Media
Accuracy in Media
Accuracy In Media is an American, non-profit news media watchdog founded in 1969 by economist Reed Irvine. AIM describes itself as "a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that...
Award during the Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
During his acceptance speech, he responded directly to accusations by New York Times reporter Kate Zernike that Jason Mattera
Jason Mattera
Jason Joseph Mattera is an American writer, activist, radio host, and editor of Human Events magazine. He entered conservative activism while attending Roger Williams University and has worked for Young America's Foundation....
, a young conservative activist, had been using "racial tones
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
" in his allusions to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, and had spoken in a "Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
voice." From the podium, Breitbart called Zernike "a despicable human being" for having made such allegations about Mattera's New York accent.
Activism
Breitbart often appears as a speaker at Tea Party movementTea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
events across the U.S. For example, Breitbart was a keynote speaker at the first National Tea Party Convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville on February 6, 2010. Breitbart later involved himself in a controversy over homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
and alleged racial
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
slurs being used at a March 20, 2010 rally at the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
by asserting that slurs were never used, and that "It was a set-up" by Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and the Democratic Party. Breitbart offered to donate $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund
United Negro College Fund
The United Negro College Fund is an American philanthropic organization that fundraises college tuition money for black students and general scholarship funds for 39 private historically black colleges and universities. The UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson , Mary...
"for any audio/video footage of the N-word
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
being hurled", claiming that they made it up. Breitbart insisted Congressman John Lewis and the several other witnesses were forced to lie, concluding that "Nancy Pelosi did a great disservice to a great civil rights icon by thrusting him out there to perform this mischievous task. His reputation is now on the line as a result of her desperation to take down the Tea Party movement."
Websites
Breitbart has launched a number of websites, including Breitbart.com, BigHollywood.com, BigGovernment.com, BigJournalism.com, and BigPeace.com.Breitbart launched his first website as a news site; it is sometimes linked to by the Drudge Report
Drudge Report
The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...
and other websites. It features wire stories from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
, Fox News, PR Newswire
PR Newswire
PR Newswire started out in 1954 as a vendor hired by companies and agencies to send out text press releases to the media. Today, PR Newswire is hired by corporations, public relations firms and non-governmental organizations to deliver news and multimedia content...
, and U.S. Newswire, as well as direct links to a number of major international newspapers. Its Blog & "Network" links tend to run to the right within the U.S. political spectrum (e.g., National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
and Townhall.com
Townhall.com
Townhall.com is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. It was previously operated by the Heritage Foundation, but is now owned and operated by Salem Communications...
). The site also features a search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
powered by Lingospot and a finance channel powered by FinancialContent
FinancialContent
FinancialContent is a web widget company that provides financial tools & applications to websites. It was founded in 1998. In February 2006 the company raised $1 million in funding to develop StreetIQ.com, a business podcasting portal. In July 2008, the company announced that it would begin...
. In 2007, Breitbart launched a video blog, Breitbart.tv.
In 2008 Breitbart launched the website "Big Hollywood," a "group blog" driven by some who work within Los Angeles
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, featuring contributions from a variety of writers, including politically conservative entertainment-industry professionals. The site, an outgrowth of the column "Big Hollywood" that Breitbart wrote for the Washington Times, addresses issues facing conservatives who work in Hollywood. In 2009, the site used audio from a secretly recorded conference call to accuse the National Endowment of the Arts of encouraging artists to create work in support of Barack Obama's domestic policy agenda.
Breitbart launched BigGovernment.com on September 10, 2009. He hired Mike Flynn, a former government affairs specialist at Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation
The Reason Foundation is an American nonprofit think tank founded in 1978 that also publishes Reason magazine. Based in Los Angeles, Reason is self-described as nonpartisan and publishes a statement of values that can best be described as libertarian...
, as Editor-in-Chief of Big Government. The site premiered with hidden camera video footage taken by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe
James O'Keefe
James E. O'Keefe III is a conservative American activist who has produced controversial audio and video recordings of public figures and workers in a variety of organizations...
at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now was a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocated for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues...
offices in various cities, attracting nationwide attention resulting in the ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy
ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy
The ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy refers to the news media and political uproar following the release of videos in 2009 purporting to show encounters between a young couple and workers in several offices of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now , where the ACORN...
.
In January 2010, Breitbart launched Big Journalism. He told Mediaite
Mediaite
Mediaite is a news and opinion blog covering politics and entertainment in the media industry as well as other issues. It is the flagship blog of Abrams Media, a ring of blogs run by ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams and also featuring Gossip Cop, Geekosystem, Styleite, Sports Grid, The Mary Sue and...
: "Our goal at Big Journalism is to hold the mainstream media’s feet to the fire. There are a lot of stories that they simply don’t cover, either because it doesn’t fit their world view, or because they’re literally innocent of any knowledge that the story even exists, or because they are a dying organization, short-staffed, and thus can’t cover stuff like they did before." Big Journalism was edited by Michael A. Walsh
Michael Walsh (author)
Michael A. Walsh is a music critic, author, screenwriter, and media critic. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York in 1971, he became a reporter for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in February 1972, where he shared the New York State Publishers Association...
, a former journalism professor and Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
music critic. It is now currently edited by Dana Loesch
Dana Loesch
Dana Loesch is a conservative talk radio host, associated with the Tea Party movement.Dana Loesch graduated from Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri. She attended St. Louis Community College and transferred to Webster University, where she majored in journalism...
. The site has a fictional contributor named "Retracto, the Correction Alpaca" who posts items requesting corrections from the traditional media.
BigPeace.com debuted July 4, 2010. The site covers topics such as international issues and foreign policy, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic extremism, espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, border security, and energy issues.
Anthony Weiner
On May 28, 2011, Breitbart posted a sexually explicit photo on his BigJournalism website of New York Representative Anthony Weiner obtained through Weiner's Twitter account. Initially Weiner denied that he had sent a link to the photograph to a 21-year-old female college student, but after questions developed, he admitted to inappropriate online relationships. On June 6, 2011 Breitbart reported other photos Weiner had sent, including one that was sexually graphic. On June 8, 2011, the sexually graphic photo was leaked after Breitbart participated in a radio interview with hosts Opie and AnthonyOpie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
, though Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission. Weiner subsequently resigned from his congressional seat on June 21, 2011.
Shirley Sherrod
On July 19, 2010, Breitbart posted two short videos showing excerpts of a speech by Shirley Sherrod at an NAACP fundraising dinner in March 2010. The videos ensuing controversy resulted in Sherrod being fired from the United States Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
on July 19. After Breitbart was criticized for taking Sherrod's words out of context, he posted the complete 40-minute video of the speech. The NAACP stated that the video excerpts aired by Breitbart were deliberately deceptive and said that he had "snookered" the group. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
later apologized to Sherrod and offered her a new job. In 2011, Sherrod brought suit against Breitbart for defamation.
ACORN undercover videos
Breitbart was also involved in the 2009 ACORN video controversyACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy
The ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy refers to the news media and political uproar following the release of videos in 2009 purporting to show encounters between a young couple and workers in several offices of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now , where the ACORN...
. Hannah Giles posed as a prostitute seeking assistance while James O'Keefe
James O'Keefe
James E. O'Keefe III is a conservative American activist who has produced controversial audio and video recordings of public figures and workers in a variety of organizations...
portrayed her boyfriend, and clandestinely videotaped meetings with ACORN
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now was a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocated for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues...
staff. Subsequent criminal investigations by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and the California Attorney General found the videos were heavily edited in an attempt to make ACORN's responses "appear more sinister", and contributed to the group's demise. Breitbart then provided a forum for O'Keefe on his BigGovernment.com website and defended his actions on Sean Hannity's
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
program.
GOProud
Breitbart has also been embroiled in a controversy within the conservative movement related to the participation of gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
group GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
in the Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
(CPAC), an annual conference held in Washington, D.C. by the American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
. In 2011 he was the primary host of a party that served to "welcome" the "homocons" to the convention (though it was the second year they had been participants). This flew in the face of a boycott staged by a few social conservative groups that were offended by the inclusion of GOProud within the conservative fold. Writer, producer, and publisher Roger L. Simon referred to the group as a "game-changer" for the Republican party, and asserted that it represented a turning point in the appeal that the conservative movement might hold for young people. Breitbart is now on the Advisory Board of GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
.
Personal life
Breitbart is married to Susannah (Susie) Bean, the daughter of actor Orson BeanOrson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
, and has four children.