Hatin’ the Mexicans: Wonder where Doug Hawkins and now, District 18 Democratic Metro Council candidate Mike Perkins, get their anti-immigration information? Try cable news. A new report from Media Matters shows that most of the garbage that’s thrown at viewers on cable comes from Bill O’Reilly, Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck.

When it comes to immigration, cable news overflows not just with vitriolic rhetoric, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers’ resentment and fears, fostering hostility toward immigrants.

So all you haters that keep sending me the myths about immigration, read the report, and quit with the fear-mongering. The facts show that there is no immigrant crime wave, they’re not taking tax dollars from federal benefit programs and they do pay taxes. Many of them actually contribute meaningfully to society.

The Courier Audit: We told you yesterday that the Gannett Co. is conducting an audit of its 46,000 employees to find out if any of them are falsely reporting relatives in order to collect company benefits. Seems a little creepy and 1984-ish to me. Turns out the firm conducting the audit is based in Jeffersonville - Chapman Kelly.  According to Gannett Blog, Chapman Kelly won’t say how it’s getting paid, though the blog speculates that it might be based on how many cheaters it finds. I just can’t imagine anyone lying about dependents to get benefits, and I hear that it’s a nuisance for C-J employees who are producing birth certificates for their children and marriage certificates to comply with the auditor demands. Gannett must think another punch to the gut of company morale is worth it to root out a few bad apples.

Reds Radio Moving: Ever listen to Cincinnati Reds’ games on radio at night? I didn’t think so. But for those who do, the Reds have moved over from Clear Channel’s WKRD to 93.9 FM The Ticket. Reds’ management initiated the move because it was unhappy playing second fiddle to the Louisville Bats on WKRD. It should mean a clearer signal for Reds’ fans here, though most fans who really want to hear the Reds can get the Cincinnati station, WLW.

Local Ad Legend Passes: It was sad to hear that local advertising legend Bill Sheehy passed away on Wednesday.