Reply #24: Probably more often on domestic, it would seem.

[Judi Lynn]

Their founder is Jeff Cohen whom you may remember.

http://www.historycommons.org.nyud.net:8090/events-images/a999jeffcohen_2050081722-22208.jpg

Here's one short review of the F.A.I.R.:

Media watch nonprofit organization

Founded by former journalist and civil rights lawyer Jeff Cohen, media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has set the standard for media criticism based on democratic values rather than on partisan positions. Tracking media practices that marginalize women, people of color, and voices of dissent, FAIR critiques media bias, inaccuracies, and omissions—and mobilizes a community of activists to hold media outlets accountable. The group’s teaching tools include its widely-distributed action alerts, its magazine Extra!, and the syndicated radio program Counterspin, hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall, and Peter Hart. FAIR has taught a generation of progressive activists to become media critics, to respond to misleading reporting with reasoned critiques, and to work for public interest media policies. Prominent activists who have worked at FAIR include broadcaster Laura Flanders, media critic Norman Solomon, and feminist media activist Jennifer Pozner.

http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/mediaheroes/fair

The founder of F.A.I.R., as I just discovered looking for more on him, was the producer of the Phil Donohue Show which got axed as _{George W. Bush} fired up his murder machine against Iraq:

Fall 2002: MSNBC Restricts Anti-War Voices on ‘Countdown: Iraq’ Program

eff Cohen, the founder of the media watchdog organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) and a former producer for MSNBC talk show host Phil Donahue, loses almost all of his airtime on the network as the Iraq invasion approaches. Cohen, once a frequent guest on MSNBC’s various opinion and commentary shows, will reflect in his 2006 book Cable News Confidential that he argued passionately against invading Iraq, using “every possible argument that might sway mainstream viewers—no real threat, cost, instability.” However, as the run-up to war progresses, he is no longer allowed on the air. He will write: “There was no room for me after MSNBC launched ‘Countdown: Iraq’—a daily one-hour show that seemed more keen on glamorizing a potential war than scrutinizing or debating it. ‘Countdown: Iraq’ featured retired colonels and generals, sometimes resembling boys with war toys as they used props, maps and glitzy graphics to spin invasion scenarios. They reminded me of pumped-up ex-football players doing pre-game analysis and diagramming plays. It was excruciating to be sidelined at MSNBC, watching so many non-debates in which myth and misinformation were served up unchallenged.” In 2008, Cohen will write: “It was bad enough to be silenced. Much worse to see that these ex-generals—many working for military corporations—were never in debates, nor asked a tough question by an anchor.” Cohen’s recollections will be bolstered by a 2008 New York Times investigation that documents a systematic, well-organized media manipulation program by the Pentagon that successfully sells the war to the media and the American public by using so-called “independent military analysts” (see April 20, 2008 and Early 2002 and Beyond). While the Times article focuses primarily on the analysts and their Pentagon handlers, Cohen says that an equal portion of blame belongs to the media outlets themselves. “The biggest villain here is not Rumsfeld nor the Pentagon,” Cohen writes. “It’s the TV networks. In the land of the First Amendment, it was their choice to shut down debate and journalism. No government agency forced MSNBC to repeatedly feature the hawkish generals unopposed. Or fire Phil Donahue. Or smear weapons expert Scott Ritter. Or blacklist former attorney general Ramsey Clark. It was top NBC/MSNBC execs, not the Feds, who imposed a quota system on the Donahue staff requiring two pro-war guests if we booked one anti-war advocate—affirmative action for hawks.… (T)he major TV networks… were not hoodwinked by a Pentagon propaganda scheme. They were willingly complicit, and have been for decades.” (Truthout (.org), 4/28/2008)

http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=phil_donahue_1