Center for Media and Public Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) is a self-described nonpartisan
and nonprofit research
and educational organization that is affiliated with George Mason University
in Fairfax, Virginia
. It was founded in 1985 by political scientists Dr. S. Robert Lichter and his ex-wife, the late Dr. Linda Lichter. It publishes a newsletter called Media Monitor
.
and entertainment media
. Among its activities are a continuing analysis
and tabulation of late night political jokes, an annual report on diversity among network news journalists, and a content analysis
of the nightly news on the major broadcast and cable news networks.
The results of the latter are compiled in the CMPA newsletter. CMPA engages in health communication
research, investigating the way in which scientific issues
are conveyed in the media. CMPA also engages in survey research
to determine the accuracy of media's reports of scientific opinion.
CMPA conducts social scientific research on media coverage
with the use of such techniques as content analysis
and survey research
. Its studies appear in academic journals and reference works as well as in popular media outlets.
CMPA's signature activity is its "rapid response" studies of media coverage of current issues, which appear quickly enough to influence ongoing public debates
, such as presidential campaigns
, Senate
confirmation hearings, and major policy debates in Congress
.
Although CMPA avoids taking stands on political issues, its studies have sometimes become part of the public debate over the media's role in politics
and society
. For example, in 1992 a CMPA study found that the average length of a presidential candidate's soundbite on the evening news had dropped to less than ten seconds, down from 42 seconds in 1968. In response CBS adopted a policy requiring longer soundbites on the CBS Evening News
.Edward S. Herman
and Noam Chomsky
note that the CMPA, along with several other nonpartisan non-profit organizations, help to police the media through the creation of "flak," which they define as "negative responses to a media statement or program" and which they maintain is part of a project of "disciplining
the media."
CMPA studies of entertainment media have been used by members of the United States Congress
such as Sen. Joe Lieberman
(I-CT) in their efforts to reduce gratuitous violence and sex in television entertainment. CMPA's research on entertainment media has also included studies of how various groups have been portrayed on television, such as studies of Hispanic Americans' portrayals commissioned by the National Council of La Raza
and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
(FAIR) has challenged CMPA's non-partisan claim, based on the argument that much of its funding has come from conservative sources, and that its founder, Dr. S. Robert Lichter, once held a chair in mass communications at the American Enterprise Institute
and was a Fox News contributor. After a Washington Post article referred to CMPA as "conservative," the Post published a "Clarification," which concluded, "The Center describes itself as nonpartisan, and its studies have been cited by both conservative and liberal commentators."
Progressive organization MediaTransparency
(now run by Media Matters for America
, itself a liberal organization) documented that between 1986 and 2005 CMPA received 55 grants totaling $2,960,916 (unadjusted for inflation). The organization, which collated information from returns filed by numerous conservative foundations, claimed that 86% of CMPA's total funding came from conservative-leaning foundations. In response to Media Transparency's claims, CMPA posted on its website a listing of $1,766,500 in grants received from 19 "non-conservative" and centrist foundations and non-profit organizations.
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
and nonprofit research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and educational organization that is affiliated with George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
. It was founded in 1985 by political scientists Dr. S. Robert Lichter and his ex-wife, the late Dr. Linda Lichter. It publishes a newsletter called Media Monitor
Media Monitor
Media Monitor is the bi-monthly publication of the Center for Media and Public Affairs which presents the central findings of one or more research studies...
.
Research
The CMPA conducts studies of the newsNews
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and entertainment media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. Among its activities are a continuing analysis
Analysis
Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
and tabulation of late night political jokes, an annual report on diversity among network news journalists, and a content analysis
Content analysis
Content analysis or textual analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Earl Babbie defines it as "the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, paintings and laws."According to Dr...
of the nightly news on the major broadcast and cable news networks.
The results of the latter are compiled in the CMPA newsletter. CMPA engages in health communication
Health communication
Health communication may be defined as“The art and technique of informing, influencing, and motivating individual, institutional, and public audiences about important health issues...
research, investigating the way in which scientific issues
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
are conveyed in the media. CMPA also engages in survey research
Survey research
Survey research a research method involving the use of questionnaires and/or statistical surveys to gather data about people and their thoughts and behaviours. This method was pioneered in the 1930s and 1940s by sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld. The initial use of the method was to examine the effects...
to determine the accuracy of media's reports of scientific opinion.
CMPA conducts social scientific research on media coverage
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
with the use of such techniques as content analysis
Content analysis
Content analysis or textual analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Earl Babbie defines it as "the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, paintings and laws."According to Dr...
and survey research
Survey research
Survey research a research method involving the use of questionnaires and/or statistical surveys to gather data about people and their thoughts and behaviours. This method was pioneered in the 1930s and 1940s by sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld. The initial use of the method was to examine the effects...
. Its studies appear in academic journals and reference works as well as in popular media outlets.
CMPA's signature activity is its "rapid response" studies of media coverage of current issues, which appear quickly enough to influence ongoing public debates
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, such as presidential campaigns
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
, Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmation hearings, and major policy debates in Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
Although CMPA avoids taking stands on political issues, its studies have sometimes become part of the public debate over the media's role in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. For example, in 1992 a CMPA study found that the average length of a presidential candidate's soundbite on the evening news had dropped to less than ten seconds, down from 42 seconds in 1968. In response CBS adopted a policy requiring longer soundbites on the CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
.Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman is an American economist and media analyst with a specialty in corporate and regulatory issues as well as political economy and the media. He is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches at Annenberg School for...
and Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
note that the CMPA, along with several other nonpartisan non-profit organizations, help to police the media through the creation of "flak," which they define as "negative responses to a media statement or program" and which they maintain is part of a project of "disciplining
Dominant ideology
The dominant ideology, in Marxist theory, is the set of common values and beliefs shared by most people in a given society, framing how the majority think about a range of topics...
the media."
CMPA studies of entertainment media have been used by members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
such as Sen. Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
(I-CT) in their efforts to reduce gratuitous violence and sex in television entertainment. CMPA's research on entertainment media has also included studies of how various groups have been portrayed on television, such as studies of Hispanic Americans' portrayals commissioned by the National Council of La Raza
La Raza
In the Spanish language the term Raza translates to "race". Its meaning varies amongst various Spanish-speaking peoples. For instance, in Spain, "Raza" may denote specifically Spanish and often of a something or someone of a European Christian heritage. The Francoist film Raza, from 1944, which...
and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Funding
The media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in ReportingFairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting is a progressive media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986.FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity...
(FAIR) has challenged CMPA's non-partisan claim, based on the argument that much of its funding has come from conservative sources, and that its founder, Dr. S. Robert Lichter, once held a chair in mass communications at the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
and was a Fox News contributor. After a Washington Post article referred to CMPA as "conservative," the Post published a "Clarification," which concluded, "The Center describes itself as nonpartisan, and its studies have been cited by both conservative and liberal commentators."
Progressive organization MediaTransparency
MediaTransparency
MediaTransparency was a left leaning political project begun in 1999 which monitors the financial ties of conservative think tanks to conservative foundations in the United States. Its database tracks over 50,000 grants awarded since 1985, which total more than $3.2 billion USD. It was run by...
(now run by Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
, itself a liberal organization) documented that between 1986 and 2005 CMPA received 55 grants totaling $2,960,916 (unadjusted for inflation). The organization, which collated information from returns filed by numerous conservative foundations, claimed that 86% of CMPA's total funding came from conservative-leaning foundations. In response to Media Transparency's claims, CMPA posted on its website a listing of $1,766,500 in grants received from 19 "non-conservative" and centrist foundations and non-profit organizations.