Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive

left-leaning Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

media critique organization based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and

Martin A. Lee Martin A. Lee is an American author and activist who has written books and articles on far-right movements, terrorism, media issues, and drug politics. Education and career Lee has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Mich ...

. 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! ''Extra!'' is a monthly magazine of media criticism published by the media watch group FAIR. First published in 1987, its first full-time editor was Martin A. Lee. Since 1990, it has been edited by Jim Naureckas. The magazine covers a wide vari ...

'', 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 First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

by advocating for greater

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

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 A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to th ...

, establish independent

public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

and promote strong

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

sources of information." 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 False balance, also bothsidesism, is a media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports. Journalists may present evidence and arguments out of proportion to the act ...

in order to not be accused of taking sides on controversial topics.

Criticism

Although FAIR claims to be unbiased, some critics have complained that it more often finds fault with the conservative press than with the liberal press, and that it does so more on ideological grounds than on substance. The book ''Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation'' cites FAIR as an example of a group that "can give the appearance of objectivity and yet be totally partisan, biased, or ideological."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting 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

Mission

Criticism

See also

References

External links