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Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Formation	1986; 38 years ago (1986)
Founder	Jeff Cohen, Martin A. Lee
Type	501(c)3 organization
Tax ID no.	13-3392362
Purpose	Media criticism
Products	Extra! magazine, CounterSpin radio program
Key people	Janine Jackson, Jim Naureckas
Website	fair.org

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccuracies and censorship, and advocates for more diversity of perspectives in the news media. FAIR describes itself as "the national media watch group".

FAIR publishes Extra!, a magazine of media criticism, and also produces the radio program CounterSpin, which features interviews with journalists, scholars, and activists on current media-related news stories.

Mission

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 nonprofit sources of information."

Commentators on FAIR's syndicated radio program, CounterSpin, have frequently argued that American media is biased in favor of conservatism. Professor of public policy Terry J. Buss has argued that FAIR combines media criticism and partisan advocacy for progressive causes, and that their criticism of conservative groups is done "more on ideological grounds than on substance".

FAIR believes that corporate sponsorship and ownership, as well as government policies and pressure, restricts journalism and therefore distorts public discourse. FAIR also believes that most news media reflects the interests of business and government elites while ignoring or minimizing minority, female, public interest, and dissenting points of view. FAIR criticizes media outlets for engaging in false balance in order to not be accused of taking sides on controversial topics.

See also

• Accuracy in Media
• Columbia Journalism Review
• Institute for Public Accuracy
• Media bias
• Media Lens
• Media Matters for America
• Media Research Center
• Norman Solomon

References

1. Goodman, Walter (June 17, 1990). "TV VIEW; Let's Be Frank About Fairness And Accuracy –". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
2. Shepard, Alicia C. (12 April 2011). "What to Think about Think Tanks?". NPR. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
3. Callahan, David (2010). Fortunes of change : the rise of the liberal rich and the remaking of America. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0470177112.
4. Sheppard, Si (2008). The partisan press : a history of media bias in the United States. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0786432820.
5. Hays, Constance L. (May 19, 1996). "MAKING IT WORK;FAIR or Not?". New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
6. ^ "What's FAIR?". Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
7. ^ "Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
8. ^ Buss, Terry F.; Buss, Nathaniel J. (2006). "The Internet, Politics, and Democracy". In Redburn, F. Stevens (ed.). Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-7656-1934-1.
9. Vance, Lucian (2017). Fake News and Media Bias. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-5345-6200-4.

External links

• Official website
• "Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

• Media analysis organizations and websites
• American political websites
• Political advocacy groups in the United States
• Organizations established in 1986
• 1986 establishments in New York City