Notes on FAIR: FAIR generally has a liberal perspective; for example, its spokespeople attempt to bring to public attention the effects of media mergers and other developments that they think prevent minority voices from being heard. FAIR generally concentrates on what is not being mentioned on news pages and on evening newscasts. And: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) Founder and Executive Director: Jeff Cohen; Cohen is a lawyer who has worked for the American Civil Liberties Union Staff size: nine in New York, one in Los Angeles Founding date: 1986 1996 operating budget: approximately $800,000 Web address: http://www.fair.org/fair Selected advisory board members: Actors Edward Asner, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon; journalists Ben Bagdikian, Barbara Ehrenreich, Susan Faludi, Katha Pollitt, and Studs Terkel; musician Jackson Browne; poet Allen Ginsberg; feminists Eleanor Smeal and Gloria Steinem Selected btes noires: Rush Limbaugh, Pat Buchanan, Bob Grant Nexis stories since January 1995 that include the phrase "Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting": 305 Selected financial backers: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the Veatch Foundation; the Samuel Rubin Foundation; the Streisand Foundation. Seventy percent of budget comes from subscriptions and donations from individuals. FAIR does not accept corporate contributions. FAIR-affiliated books: Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media; The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error Publications and other resources: the bimonthly magazine Extra! ($19 a year for individuals, $29 for institutions); "Media Beat," a weekly syndicated column by FAIR's Norman Solomon; CounterSpin, a weekly radio show (RealAudio files of recent shows can be accessed from the FAIR Web site) Excerpt from mission statement: "FAIR focuses public awareness on the narrow corporate ownership of the press, the media's allegiance to official agendas and their insensitivity to women, labor, minorities, and other public interest constituencies." http://www.cjr.org/year/96/6/watchdog.asp Nah, they're not biased towards the left in any way. I mean, with liberal reporter and media watchdog Jeff Cohen as their boss, and with Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon on their advisory board, how could they be? Just do a google search on FAIR and see what you come up with. Links to antiwar groups and "peace activist" groups, socialist groups, environmentalist groups, multiculturalist groups... Yeah. Centrist. That's it...
