 | |
| Abbreviation | CMD |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1993 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Investigative journalism and advocacy journalism |
| Location |
|
Region served | United States |
Executive director | Arn Pearson [1] |
Budget | $829,683 (2020) [2] |
Staff | 5 (2022) [3] |
| Website | www |
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org.
CMD was founded in 1993 by progressive writer John Stauber in Madison, Wisconsin. Lisa Graves is the former president of CMD. [9] [10] Author Sheldon Rampton was formerly an editor of PR Watch, once a website that was one of CMD’s main outputs, but now run only as an archive, replaced by exposedbycmd.org.
In a report released on April 6, 2006, CMD listed information on 77 television stations that had broadcast video news releases (VNRs) in the prior 10 months. CMD said that in each case the television station actively disguised the VNR content to make it appear to be its own reporting, and that in more than one-third of the cases, the stations aired the pre-packaged VNR in its entirety. In August 2006, the Federal Communications Commission mailed formal letters to the owners of the 77 television stations, asking for information regarding agreements between the stations and the creators of VNRs, and asking whether there was any "consideration" given to the stations in return for airing the material. [11] [12] [13] [14]
In 2014, CMD merged with The Progressive , a progressive monthly magazine, but separated after six months. [15]
CMD has investigated and reported on donor-advised funds, referring to such donations as a form of "dark money". According to the Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, CMD is a recipient of donor-advised funds via the Schwab Charitable Fund. [16]
The New York Times referred to CMD as a watchdog organization. [17] [18] [19] The Washington Post described CMD as "a liberal organization that tracks the use of public relations by corporations and politicians." [20] A May 2012 article in Isthmus , an alternative weekly newspaper based in Madison, Wisconsin, referred to CMD as an "activist group". [9] A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel political columnist referred to CMD as "left-wing" and "liberal". [21] CMD was referred to as "uber-liberal" by the conservative news website Watchdog.org. [22] CMD has been referred to as a "liberal advocacy group" by The Des Moines Register , the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , the Wisconsin State Journal , and the La Crosse Tribune . [4] [5] [6] [7]
CMD disputes the characterization of "liberal" and describes itself as an "investigative watchdog". [3] [23]
ExposedbyCMD is CMD's investigative reporting website. [3]
CMD hosts the ALEC Exposed website, which is a wiki focusing on the American Legislative Exchange Council and the political activities of the Koch brothers. [24] [25] The "ALEC Exposed" project was featured in the 2012 Bill Moyers documentary film, United States of ALEC. [26] [27]
CMD hosts the wiki SourceWatch, which was established in 2003. [28] According to the project's website, it "aims to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interest groups." [29] CMD sets the editorial and security policies under which SourceWatch operates. [29] [30] Unlike Wikipedia, SourceWatch does not require a "neutral point of view." [31]
From 2006 to 2009, SourceWatch hosted Congresspedia, a wiki that was funded by the Sunlight Foundation and intended to document the activities of the United States Congress. [32]
CMD states that it accepts donations from "individuals and philanthropic foundations through gifts and grants", but "no funding from for-profit corporations or grants from government agencies." It maintains a partial list of supporters on its website. [3]
In a column for Fox News, Dan Gainor wrote that CMD received $200,000 from the Open Society Institute (OSI), a grantmaking network founded by George Soros. [33] CMD stated that it received a grant from OSI "to continue work on national security issues". [3]
Fox News reported that in 2011 CMD received $865,000 in donations—$520,000, or 60% of 2011's total revenue—was received from the Schwab Charitable Fund, a donor advised fund which preserves the anonymity of donors by not disclosing individual donor names. [34]
According to the conservative news website Watchdog.org, the Tides Foundation, a foundation known to donate almost exclusively to left-wing organizations,[ citation needed ] reported giving CMD $160,000 in 2011, but that money did not appear on CMD's tax form 990. When asked why CMD heavily criticizes conservative organizations for not revealing their donors while refusing to name all of CMD's funders, CMD's president Lisa Graves said, "The question of conservative funders versus liberal funders, I think, is a matter of false equivalency. [22] Quite frankly a number of these (corporate donors) like Koch Industries…they’re advancing not just an ideological agenda but an agenda that helps advance the bottom line of their corporate interests. That’s quite a distinct difference from some of the funders in the progressive universe." [35]
In June 2014, Politico reported that the Center for Media and Democracy was a recipient of funding through the Democracy Alliance, a network of left-wing donors. [36] [37]
CMD and progressive magazine The Nation shared a September 2011 Sidney Award, an award given by The Sidney Hillman Foundation in recognition of "socially-conscious journalism", for "ALEC Exposed". [38]
In 2012, CMD received an Izzy Award, given by the Roy H. Park School of Communications of Ithaca College for special achievement in independent media, and a Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award, given by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, for the "ALEC Exposed" project. [39] [40] [41]
Sheldon Rampton is an American editor and author. He was editor of PR Watch, and is the author of several books that criticize the public relations industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States.
The Media Research Center (MRC) is an American conservative content analysis and media watchdog group based in Herndon, Virginia, and founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III.
David Brock is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by Time as "one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Party".
A video news release (VNR) is a video segment made to look like a news report, but is instead created by a PR firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization. They are provided to television newsrooms to shape public opinion, promote commercial products and services, publicize individuals, or support other interests. News producers may air VNRs, in whole or in part, at their discretion or incorporate them into news reports if they contain information appropriate to a story or of interest to viewers.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) watchdog organization devoted to U.S. government ethics and accountability. Founded in 2003 as a counterweight to conservative government watchdog groups such as Judicial Watch, CREW works to expose ethics violations and corruption by government officials and institutions and to reduce the role of money in politics.
Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independent personalities such as Arnie Arnesen, Michael Brooks, Alan Colmes, Jon Favreau, Al Franken, Brad Friedman, John Fugelsang, Norman Goldman, Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, Kyle Kulinski, Jon Lovett, Rachel Maddow, Mike Malloy, Stephanie Miller, Michael Moore, David Pakman, Mike Papantonio, Dan Pfeiffer, Bill Press, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Sam Seder, Hal Sparks, and Tommy Vietor.
Mark William Pocan is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of the Democratic Party, Pocan is co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. From 1999 to 2013 he served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 78th district, succeeding Tammy Baldwin there, whom he also replaced in the House when Baldwin was elected to the U.S. Senate.
The Democracy Alliance is a network of progressive megadonors who coordinate their political donations to groups that the Alliance has endorsed. Since its founding in 2005, the Democracy Alliance has given more than $1 billion to liberal organizations and political campaigns. According to The New York Times, the group "channels money from megadonors, whom the group keeps anonymous, to organizations it believes will advance a progressive agenda." It has been described by Politico as "the country's most powerful liberal donor club".
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary political advocacy group, it has been viewed as one of the most influential American conservative organizations.
The American Independent is a pseudo-news organization funded by Democratic Party political action committees. According to the organization, its aim is to support journalism which exposes "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." The current institute, started by David Brock in 2014, is a relaunch of the former state-based digital news-gathering network known as the American Independent News Network.
The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) is a progressive policy institute housed on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was founded in 1991 by UW Professor Joel Rogers. The organization says that its core values are democracy, sustainability and equality.
The Franklin News Foundation, previously the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, is an American online nonprofit news organization that publishes news and commentary from a conservative and free market, limited government perspective on state and local politics. Its journalism platform is called The Center Square, rebranded from Watchdog.org. Founded in 2009 in North Dakota, the organization moved to Virginia and is now based in Chicago.
The Center Square, formerly Watchdog.org, is a conservative American news website that features reporting on state and local governments. It is a project of the Franklin News Foundation, a conservative online news organization. The Center Square distributes its content through a newswire service.
The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advises its member think tanks on fundraising, running a nonprofit, and communicating ideas. Founded in 1992, it is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with member groups located in all fifty states.
Donors Trust is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". As a donor advised fund, Donors Trust is not legally required to disclose the identity of its donors, and most of its donors remain anonymous. It distributes funds to various conservative and libertarian organizations, and has been characterized as the "dark money ATM" of the political right.
Lisa Graves is a progressive activist who is the executive director of True North Research and president of the board of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). She served as executive director for CMD from 2009 to 2017, when she left to co-found Documented Investigations. Graves also serves on the advisory board of U.S. Right to Know, and has previously advised UnKoch My Campus and the Bill of Rights Defense Fund.
The State Innovation Exchange(SIX), formerly American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange(ALICE), is a nonprofit organization established in September 2012 by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The organization provides an online database of state-level legislation that has been passed in a state for politicians and activists to replicate and enact in state legislatures. SIX focuses on providing liberal and progressive model legislation.
Wisconsin Watch or the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is a nonprofit investigative news organization housed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The organization's mission is to "increase the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future generations of investigative journalists."
Issue One is an American nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money in politics through enactment of campaign finance reform.
..the Center for Media and Democracy, a watchdog organization...
A watchdog group ... .
the headquarters ... of the Center for Media and Democracy ... is Madison WI.
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