Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
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Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a media criticism organization based in New York City, 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 that believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information."[1]
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[edit] Media outlets
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.
[edit] Positions
FAIR has said 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.[2]
[edit] Notable Events
On Super Bowl Sunday in 1993, a public service announcement was aired on NBC, just before game coverage, which reminded viewers 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 time slot. The PSA occurred in the context of several news conferences and reports from various interest groups warning that domestic violence increases "40 percent" on Super Bowl Sunday. One group sent out a mailer that warned women not to stay home during the football game because of the danger. Later this belief, although generally regarded to be completely baseless, had risen to an urban legend status.[3] FAIR has defended the PSA as raising awareness of the issue and saving lives. With reference to one FAIR letter that included the "40 percent increase" figure, FAIR told the Boston Globe "It should not have gone out in FAIR materials."[4]
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 underestimate of the size of a massive anti-Iraq War rally led to an NPR apology to its listeners and a followup 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, a FAIR Action Alert led ABC World News Tonight and the New York Times to expand their coverage of the Federal Marriage Amendment to explain the legal ramifications of the issue.[citation needed]
In 2006, FAIR criticized U.S. media coverage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, taking issue with the assertion that "... Hugo Chávez is an autocrat who has consolidated one-party rule".[5] FAIR has frequently defended the Chávez government against such criticism.[6][7][8][9][10]
[edit] References
- ^ What's FAIR?, FAIR Website
- ^ FAIR website
- ^ Urban Legend Reference [1]
- ^ Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting executive director Jeff Cohen's excerpted letter [2]
- ^ The Repeatedly Re-Elected Autocrat
- ^ FAIR: Region: Venezuela
- ^ Coup Co-Conspirators as Free-Speech Martyrs
- ^ Inexplicable Tongue-Lashing
- ^ The Myth of the Muzzled Media
- ^ NYT Hypes Venezuelan Threat
[edit] See also
- Accuracy in Media
- Columbia Journalism Review
- Media Research Center
- Media Matters for America
- Media bias
- Media Lens
