Former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson engaged in some on-air speculation on Sunday, suggesting that the liberal Media Matters for America may have been paid to specifically target her.
Attkisson, who resigned from CBS last month reportedly over concerns about the network’s liberal bias, told CNN’s Brian Stelter that Media Matters used to help her with stories until her reporting turned critical of the Obama administration.
“And I was certainly friendly with them as anybody. Good information can come from any source,” she said. “But when I persisted with Fast & Furious and some of the green energy stories that I was doing, I clearly at some point became a target. I don’t know if someone paid them to do it or they just took it on their own, but they were very much –“
Stelter wondered if the group was funded to specifically go after her.
“Perhaps, sure,” Attkisson said. “I think that’s what some of these groups do, absolutely.”
She did not go as far, however, as to speculate about who would have paid for such an effort.
A spokesperson for Media Matters swatted down the charge on Sunday night.
“Sharyl Attkisson is continuing a pattern of evidence-free speculation that started at the end of her tenure at CBS,” the spokesperson said, according to Mediaite. “We have never taken contributions to target her or any other reporter. Our decision to post any research on Attkisson is based only on her shoddy reporting.”
Attkisson, a favorite journalist among conservatives who’s writing a book about her struggles during the Obama presidency, recently drew the ire of Media Matters when she complained about liberal media bias.
She said during an appearance on Fox News earlier this month that the “press in general seems to be very shy about challenging the administration,” prompting Media Matters to issue a retort.
