DCNet Speakers Series: Eric Burns, President of Media Matters

As the message battles intensify across the country, we all know how important it is to go on offense as well as to effectively fight back negative attacks and misinformation. On Friday, September 24, at 1 PM, DCNet will hold a Distinguished Speakers series event with Media Matters President Eric Burns to hear his advice on how to deliver a smart offense and combat negative attacks.

Eric Burns is a progressive political communications, management, and strategy professional with more than a decade of experience in local, state, and national politics. He joined Media Matters in the Fall of 2006 as chief communications strategist and pioneered the creation of a cutting-edge communications center within the organization.

Before arriving at Media Matters, Burns spent several years driving ethics reform and exposing Republican corruption in Congress. While serving as communications director for Congressman Chris Bell (D-TX), Burns conceived and directed the communications strategy for the historic 2004 ethics complaint filed against then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

In 2005, Burns was tapped to serve as communications director for the then-ranking member of the House Rules Committee, Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Continuing his aggressive coordination of communications strategy for the growing Democratic anti-corruption effort, the subject quickly became one of two centerpiece issues in the historic 2006 elections. A former investment banker, Burns holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and is the President of Media Matters for America.

Media Matters is a progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.