Think Tank Citations Sink [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
"The 25 most media-prominent think tanks [3] were cited 17 percent less in 2007 than they were the year before," according to an annual survey by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting [4] (FAIR). "The overall ideological breakdown was the same ... 47 percent of citations went to centrist think tanks, 37 percent to conservative or right-leaning think tanks, and 16 percent to progressive or left-leaning think tanks." The downward trend "is not necessarily a bad thing. ... Given that FAIR's surveys have consistently found that these supposedly detached experts actually tilt toward the center-right, fewer of them spinning and shaping news coverage may be a net plus for media transparency, if not diversity." The current issue of FAIR's magazine "Extra!" also contains the group's annual "Fear & Favor [5]" report. Among the news outlets mentioned is Portland's KOIN-TV [6], which CMD documented airing [7] a video news release [8]. KOIN merited mention for its "weekly medical report," which is sponsored by Providence Health Systems and consistently features Providence experts and information.