by Ben Muessig

(FAIR’s logo, from www.fair.org)

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) is a New York City-based nonprofit organization that criticizes American media. FAIR's mission, according to its website, is to scrutinize “media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints” and “expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled.”

Former ACLU lawyer and journalist, Jeff Cohen founded FAIR in 1986.

In its first year, FAIR criticized ABC for airing “Amerika,” a 14-hour miniseries depicting a fictionalized Soviet invasion of the United States. Also in 1986, FAIR conducted an extensive and controversial study of the guests interviewed on Ted Koppel’s “Nightline,” arguing that the program favored “white, male, corporate guests.” FAIR conducted a similar study of “Nightline” and the “MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour” in 1989 resulting in similar findings.

In 1987, FAIR launched its bi-monthly media criticism magazine, Extra!

FAIR followed the debut of Extra! with its weekly, 30-mintue radio show “CounterSpin.” Hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall and Peter Hart, “CounterSpin” appears on more than 125 noncommercial stations in the United States and Canada, according to the “CounterSpin” website.

During the Gulf War, FAIR protested perceived censorship in mainstream media by marching in front of the major networks’ headquarters. Throughout the 1990s, FAIR continued to question media coverage. In 1996, FAIR worked with other media critics to organize “a coalition around the apparent mainstream media cover-up of Gary Webb’s 1996 expose of connections” between the CIA and the funding of Contra insurgents in Nicaragua (Hackett and Carroll, 156).

In May of 2002, Cohen left FAIR to produce a Phil Donahue talk show on MSNBC.

FAIR currently focuses on a variety of media critiques, including the mainstream media’s representation of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

-Corporate Ownership

FINANCIAL OVERVIEWAccording to FAIR’s financial website, 80 percent of the organization’s revenue come from subscriptions to Extra! and contributions from the public. Another 12 percent come from grants from foundations and money from public charities. The conservative Media Research Center “boasted an income of $15 million in 2000, more than eighteen times as much as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the largest liberal media watchdog.”

CRITICISM OF FAIRConservative groups such as Accuracy in Media (AIM) and Discover the Network often criticize FAIR for being affiliated with liberal, or leftist ideologies. Both FAIR and AIM criticize each other for being misnamed.

Hackett, Robert A., and William K. Carroll. Remaking Media:The Struggle to Democratize PublicCommunication.New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2006.