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Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), is a media criticism organization based in New York, New York, founded in 1986.
FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints." FAIR refers to itself as a "progressive group".[1] It is described by Columbia Journalism Review[2] and Media Matters for America[3]as a "liberal media watchdog".
FAIR claims that in the range of opinion discussed in the mass media, the right edge of discussion is usually represented by a committed supporter of right-wing causes, while the left edge, by contrast, is often represented by a centrist.[4]
First published in 1987, Extra!, FAIR's bimonthly magazine, features analyses of current media bias, censorship, and effects of media consolidation. Covering a variety of issues, FAIR addresses news coverage that it finds biased with rebuttals. FAIR also produces CounterSpin, a half-hour radio program hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall, and Peter Hart, recorded at MercerMedia in NYC. It broadcasts nationally on over 130 radio stations and is available in MP3 and RealAudio format on the web.
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On Super Bowl Sunday in 1993, a public service announcement was seen on NBC, just before game coverage, which stated that "Domestic violence is a crime." This PSA was the result of weeks of work by FAIR and a coalition of anti-violence groups who convinced NBC and NBC Sports to broadcast it in that timeslot. Ken Ringle, in a Washington Post article, disputed Denver psychiatrist Lenore Walker's study of 10 years, which recorded violent incidents against women on Super Bowl Sundays.[5]
In May 2002, Jeff Cohen, a FAIR founder, left the organization to work as a producer on Phil Donahue's short-lived talk show on MSNBC.
In October 2002, FAIR's Action Alert citing the misrepresentation of the size of a massive anti-war rally led to an NPR apology to its listeners and a follow up article in the New York Times that Editor & Publisher suggested was written "in response to many organized protest letters sent to the Times since the paper's weak, and inaccurate, initial article about the march on Sunday."
In February 2004, FAIR's Action Alert led ABC World News Tonight and the New York Times to expand their coverage of a federal marriage amendment to explain the legal ramifications to the issue resulted in both media channels.[citation needed]
- ^ What's FAIR?, FAIR Website
- ^ [1] Columbia Journalism Review website
- ^ [2]Media Matters for America
- ^ [3]
- ^ Ringle, Ken. "Debunking the `Day of Dread' for Women", Washington Post, Jan 31, 1993. Retrieved on March 20, 2007.