Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) is an anticensorship organization founded in 1986 in New York by activists Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. The organization aims to address bias in news media, particularly concerning progressive perspectives, and challenges the notion that the media predominantly holds a liberal bias. Through its analyses, FAIR argues that coverage often reflects center-right viewpoints, which can overshadow more liberal or marginalized voices. This issue is attributed to a significant concentration of media ownership among a few powerful entities, which FAIR believes limits the representation of diverse viewpoints, including those from organized labor, environmental groups, and minority communities. Additionally, the influence of major advertisers is seen as exacerbating this problem by shaping content to align with corporate interests. FAIR contributes to the discourse through its bimonthly magazine, Extra!, and the weekly radio program, CounterSpin, which has been broadcast across various stations in the U.S. and Canada since 1992. Overall, FAIR serves as a platform for advocating media accountability and promoting a more equitable representation of diverse perspectives in journalism.
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Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
- FOUNDED: 1986
- TYPE OF ORGANIZATION: Anticensorship organization based in New York
SIGNIFICANCE: FAIR seeks to redress bias, especially regarding progressive viewpoints, in the news media
Activists Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee founded Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) in 1986 to counter corporate media censorship. FAIR has aggressively challenged the often-stated opinion that the news media have a liberal bias. Through analyses of news coverage, FAIR has concluded that the media tend to present important news stories from center-right viewpoints, muting or rejecting more liberal or progressive voices. A root of this problem, as FAIR has seen it, is that ownership of the media in the United States is too heavily concentrated among a few powerful and wealthy individuals and corporations. This control, FAIR believes, works to stifle the viewpoints of more marginalized groups, such as organized labor, grassroots environmental or public interest organizations, women, minority groups, and others who may pose challenges to the interests of those in the economic and political establishment. This censorship is further strengthened by the power and influence major advertisers are able to exert over the news media.
FAIR publishes a bimonthly magazine titled Extra! Since 1992, it has produced a weekly radio program, CounterSpin, that has been aired by several dozen stations in the United States and Canada.
Bibliography
"About/Mission Statement." Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, fair.org/about-fair. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
"Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)." Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0000179. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
"What’s FAIR?" Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, fair.org/about-fair-media-watch. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.