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In a shocking investigation by Floodlight and NPR, six seemingly independent news outlets across Alabama and Florida have been exposed as having financial connections to Matrix LLC, a powerful consulting firm with utility giants as clients. The revelations paint a disturbing picture of how corporate interests can manipulate the media landscape to advance their agendas.
The investigation uncovered that Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light, which together serve 7.5 million households, paid Matrix to help shape their public image. In turn, Matrix funneled at least $900,000 between 2013 and 2020 to six news sites: Yellowhammer News, Alabama Political Reporter, Alabama Today, The Capitolist, Florida Politics, and the now-defunct Sunshine State News.
For Terry Dunn, a former Alabama public service commissioner, the consequences were personal. After winning election in 2010 on a platform of investigating Alabama Power’s high electricity rates, Dunn found himself the target of a coordinated smear campaign.
“Mostly everything was all made up,” Dunn told reporters. “You get to thinking, ‘Why are they attacking me?’ I’m just telling the truth and trying to do what’s right for the people.”
The attacks appeared in Matrix-linked news sites, portraying the conservative Republican as a “radical environmentalist” and Democrat sympathizer—devastating labels in deep-red Alabama. By 2014, Dunn lost his reelection bid by 19 percentage points.
Eight years later, Alabama still has not held a formal rate hearing, and Alabama Power remains one of the nation’s most profitable utility companies. Meanwhile, Alabama residents continue to pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country.
The investigation revealed particularly egregious cases of media manipulation. Emails show that in 2020, Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy directly ordered a hit piece against the Miami Herald when the newspaper asked readers for donations. Three days after his request, The Capitolist published the suggested article, complete with a doctored image of a Herald reporter holding a sign asking for “Spare change for Fake News.”
Matrix founder Joe Perkins, whose doctoral thesis explored how journalists’ choices can affect public sentiment, built a firm centered on media manipulation and stealth tactics. A plaque in Matrix’s Montgomery office reads: “Invisibility is more powerful than celebrity.”
“The reduction in just the size of the press corps covering state government has created a vacuum that I think tends to be filled by people who have agendas beyond serving the public interest,” says former Miami Herald executive editor Tom Fiedler.
While the news site owners deny wrongdoing, internal documents tell a different story. At The Capitolist, editor Brian Burgess—a former aide to Senator Rick Scott—sought approval from Matrix executives before publishing certain stories. At Florida Politics, publisher Peter Schorsch admits to practicing “combination journalism,” giving favorable coverage to advertisers.
The timing of this media manipulation coincided with both utilities’ efforts to fight clean energy initiatives. Alabama Power operates a coal-fired plant that is the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, while Florida Power & Light last year pushed legislation that would have gutted homeowners’ ability to profit from solar panels.
For Dunn, who now lives hours away from Alabama’s capital, the experience left him disillusioned. “Alabamians bitched about high power bills, but when they had someone that would address it, they abandoned me,” he says. “So let them struggle to keep the lights on.”
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11 Comments
This is a concerning example of the power that large corporations can wield over the media. The fact that utility companies are funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into supposedly independent news outlets to attack their critics is deeply troubling. We need stronger safeguards to protect the integrity of journalism.
I agree, this is a serious breach of journalistic ethics. The public deserves to know when news coverage is being influenced by corporate money and interests. Greater transparency and accountability are needed to prevent this kind of media manipulation.
Attacking whistleblowers and critics through a coordinated media campaign is a troubling abuse of power. Utility companies should not be able to manipulate public perception in this way. We need robust journalistic integrity and transparency to hold these companies accountable.
Absolutely. This kind of corporate influence over the media is extremely problematic and threatens the public’s right to accurate, unbiased information. Journalists and outlets must maintain their independence and resist these attempts at manipulation.
It’s disheartening to see how much money and effort these utility companies are putting into shaping media coverage to their advantage. This kind of corporate influence over the press is a threat to democracy and the public’s ability to make informed decisions.
This is a concerning trend of utility companies trying to control the narrative and discredit their critics. It’s important that the media remain independent and objective, not beholden to the interests of the companies they cover. I hope this investigation leads to greater scrutiny and accountability.
This is a troubling revelation about how utility companies can manipulate the media landscape. It’s concerning to see the power they wield and the lengths they’ll go to attack whistleblowers and critics. Transparency and accountability in the media are essential, especially when it comes to powerful special interests.
It’s deeply concerning to see how utility companies are exploiting their financial power to manipulate the media landscape. Attacking whistleblowers and critics through coordinated smear campaigns is a blatant abuse of corporate influence. We need stronger safeguards to protect the independence and integrity of journalism.
The revelations that utility companies are paying to shape media coverage and attack their critics is very worrying. This kind of corporate influence over the press undermines the public’s trust and ability to get accurate, unbiased information. It’s a threat to democracy that needs to be urgently addressed.
Wow, $900,000 funneled to six news sites to shape their coverage? That’s a huge amount of money and influence. It’s disappointing to see this kind of corporate media manipulation happening. We need strong, independent journalism that isn’t beholden to special interests.
I agree, it really undermines public trust in the media when outlets are being paid off like this. Journalists need to be vigilant about conflicts of interest and be transparent about their funding sources.