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The '''Statistical Assessment Service''' (STATS) touts itself as a "non-profit, non-partisan organization" but its funders are not transparent.  It is an arm, or "sister organization," of the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] (CMPA).  
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The '''Statistical Assessment Service''' (STATS) touts itself as a "non-profit, non-partisan organization" but its funders are not transparent.  It is an arm, or "sister organization," of the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] (CMPA), and it is affiliated with the [[Center for Health and Risk Communication]] at [[George Mason University]]. STATS in turn has two "sister organizations": the [[Genetic Literacy Project]], which promotes [[GMO]]s; and [[EconoSTATS]], which promotes privatization and opposes government regulation.<ref>STATS, [http://www.stats.org/ STATS], organizational website, accessed March 2014.</ref>
  
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STATS promotes itself as a disinterested, non-partisan guardian of scientific and statistical integrity to often unsuspecting media outlets. It has been surprisingly successful in this guise, with many persons and organizations citing STATS (especially, its [http://www.stats.org stats.org web site]), for example, the University of Iowa's Journalism school<ref>[http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/statistics_txt.html "Statistical and Demographic Resources for Journalists"], University of Iowa, accessed March 2008.</ref>  
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STATS promotes itself as a disinterested, non-partisan guardian of scientific and statistical integrity to often unsuspecting [[media]] outlets. In the New York Review of Books, Michael Massing wrote "the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] was set up with conservative foundation money in the mid-1980s as part of a growing effort by the right to portray the American press as liberal and out of touch with mainstream America."<ref>Michael Massing, "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2006/02/09/the-enemy-within-an-exchange/ ‘The Enemy Within’: An Exchange
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and the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point<ref>[http://library.uwsp.edu/vrd/communication.htm "Virtual Reference Desk: Communication"], University of Wisconsin - Stevens point, accessed March 2008.</ref> as an authoritative or useful resource.
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]," The New York Review of Books, February 9, 2006.</ref> Reporters with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that STATS was a stealth defender of the chemical industry that did not disclose funders and was associated with [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] (CMPA) which had contracted with tobacco companies.<ref>Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 22, 2009 http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/54195297.html/</ref>  
  
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From its inception, however, STATS has repeatedly attacked environmentalists, civil libertarians, feminists and other "liberals."  The first director of STATS, [[David Murray (ONDCP)|David Murray]], was not a statistician at all. His academic training was in anthropology, but he was often described in the media as a "statistician" when he commented on various topics.
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From its inception, however, STATS has repeatedly attacked environmentalists, civil libertarians, feminists and other "liberals."  The first director of STATS, [[David Murray (ONDCP)|David Murray]], was not a statistician at all. His academic training was in anthropology, but he was often described in the media as a "statistician" when he commented on various topics. In a review of a book written by STATS authors, Salon noted that it was filled with "disingenuous maneuvers”. The review added, "It’s clear that while the authors are good at looking up articles in Lexis-Nexis, they aren’t playing straight with their readers . . . Their analyses and conclusions inevitably stack up in favor of the view that there are few environmental problems that less government spending won’t fix and that social dilemmas like racial discrimination are figments of overactive imagination. A fair review of the state of science journalism is always welcome, but this cleverly disguised example of corporate propaganda isn’t it."<ref>David Appell, Salon, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” by David Murray, et al.  JUL 2, 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20170313025504/http://www.salon.com:80/2001/07/02/murray_4</ref>
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On its website, they state, "Since its founding in 1994, the non-profit, non-partisan Statistical Assessment Service - STATS - has become a much-valued resource on the use and abuse of science and statistics in the media. Our goals are to correct scientific misinformation in the media and in public policy resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge; and to act as a resource for [[journalist]]s and policy makers on major scientific issues and controversies."<ref>[http://stats.org/about.htm], Stats.org, "About Us"</ref>
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{{Template:AntiEnvironmentalArchives}}
  
 
==Funding==
 
==Funding==
  
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The STATS website did not list specific funding sources as of 2008 but states that "we do not take money from industry or industry-related groups".<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/contribute.htm "Contribute"], accessed March 2008.</ref> However, Media Transparency lists startup funding for STATS as having come from conservative funders including the [[John M. Olin Foundation]], the [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]] and the [[William H. Donner Foundation]]. Other funders include [[Richard Mellon Scaife|Richard Mellon Scaife's]] [[Carthage Foundation]], the [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]], the [[Earhart Foundation]], [[John M. Olin Foundation]] and the [[Castle Rock Foundation]]. Media Transparency identifies the group as having gained 34 grants totaling $1,925,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005.<ref>[http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1139 Grants to Statistical Assessment Service], from MediaTransparency. Accessed February 6, 2008.</ref>  
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The STATS website did not list specific funding sources as of 2008 but states that "we do not take money from industry or industry-related groups".<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/contribute.htm "Contribute"], accessed March 2008.</ref>  
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However, Media Transparency lists startup funding for STATS as having come from conservative funders including the [[John M. Olin Foundation]], the [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]] and the [[William H. Donner Foundation]]. Other funders include [[Richard Mellon Scaife|Richard Mellon Scaife's]] [[Carthage Foundation]], the [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]], the [[Earhart Foundation]], [[John M. Olin Foundation]] and the [[Castle Rock Foundation]]. Media Transparency identifies the group as having gained 34 grants totaling $2,415,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2009.<ref>[http://mediamattersaction.org/transparency/organization/Statistical_Assessment_Service/funders Grants to Statistical Assessment Service], from MediaTransparency. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010</ref> <i>See also a discussion of the funders of its sister organization, the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]].</i>
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===Total recent funding===
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In its 2008 Annual return to the [[Internal Revenue Service]], STATS reported that for that year it had total revenue of $75,485, all of which came in the form of contributions gifts and grants.
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STATS's IRS return reports that the group's revenue for the preceding four years were as follows<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/521/844/2009-521844456-05ff5878-Z.pdf, "Form 990: 2008"], February 2007, page 12.</ref>:
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* 2004: $545,000
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* 2005: $100,000
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* 2006: $100,000
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* 2007: $100,000
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* 2008: $75,485
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===Stealth funding===
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It is unclear whether some of its funding is being provided via George Mason University, with which it is affiliated, because it is does not appear possible that the work of the organization, its research and website and other activities are being funded only via grants totalling $75,000.  According to its website, the organization states that its staff includes Dr. Robert Lichter, Executive Director Donald Rieck (who previously worked for the Comcast corporation), Director of Research Dr.
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Rebecca Goldin (who acknowledges that grants from other sources fund some of her work for STATS), Senior Fellow Maia Szalavitz, Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Rose, Senior Fellow Trevor Butterworth who also serves as the Editor STATS.org, and Contributing Editor Dr. Nirit Weiss.  Since the organization's affiliation with George Mason University in 2004, its reported funding as a 501(c)(3) organization has dropped dramatically while it has employed several PhD researchers, whose salaries cumulatively cannot possibly add up to merely $75,000. Additionally, in its most recent 990, STATS reports spending a small amount of its $75,000 in funding from that year on expenses like $1,772 for telephone bills, but it reports no expenses for its lease of space on Washington, DC high-priced lobbying corridor at 2100 L Street. 
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It seems that with the affiliation of the group with this right-wing university, significant work and output is being financially supported by GMU and others.  For example, Dr. Lichter works as a professor at GMU, in addition to his work for STATS as does Dr. Goldin, who works as an Associate Professor at GMU.  According to STATS' 2009 990 tax filing, Dr. Lichter is paid only $7,993 from STATS, but he makes an undisclosed sum from GMU. (STATS' sister organization reports that it pays Dr. Lichter $40,478 a year).  Similarly, there is no reference to Dr. Goldin being compensated directly from STATS but she receives an unknown sum from GMU as an Associate Professor. 
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GMU, like many universities, seeks out corporate and other funding, beyond the amount provided by tuition.  Funding for the work of STATS by GMU effectively allows research to be funded by a variety of sources, including corporate sources, indirectly via the university's budget and through grants, contracts or gifts that may require specific results and reports to funders of the univeristy.  GMU states that it "has allied with local, national, and international corporations and foundations to enrich the research and teaching of our faculty and, ultimately, to enhance the educational experience of our students. To learn more about how Mason’s institutional priorities might intersect with your organization’s, contact our Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations." 
 +
 
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GMU's major corporate funders include:
 +
   
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* ExxonMobil Corporation
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* Lilly Endowment, Inc.
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* Lockheed Martin Corporation
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 +
Here are some of GMU's major foundation funders:
 +
 
 +
$10,000,000+
 +
 
 +
* de Laski Family Foundation (funded by Donald and Kenneth De Laski, a father-son team who made a fortune as defense contractors, proving software and other support for Department of Defense operations and contractors)
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 +
$1,000,000 to $4,999,999
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 +
* Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (funded by one of the billionaires of [[Koch Industries]], which is funding an array of Republican and right-wing ideological interests, including the [[Tea Party]] via front groups like [[Freedomworks]])
  
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In its 2006 annual return -- which cover the period from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2006 -- STATS lists having received $100,000 that year in income from grants and other public support.<ref name="2006 Page 1">Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 1.</ref> ''Media Transparency'' reports that on December 31,2005, STATS received $100,000 from the [[Sarah Scaife Foundation]], making the foundation its sole supporter that year. (STATS only other income that year was a paltry $523 in interest).
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* Searle Freedom Trust (Daniel Seale was the largest funder of the right-wing think tank, the [[American Enterprise Institute]])
  
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The group's annual return also indicates that in 2005/2006, the group ran a deficit of over $210,000.<ref name="2006 Page 1"/>
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GMU does have other smaller funders that have donated $499,999 or less, including some funding from mainstream or progressive funders as well as other conservative funders.
  
 
==STATS & CMPA==
 
==STATS & CMPA==
  
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STATS is a [[501(c)3]] non-profit organization but its 2006 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service states that "salary costs for the organization are shared with the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]]. CMPA ... reports the salary costs and files payroll reports under its tax identification number. DCFC is a related organization."<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 15.</ref> (It is not clear what "DCFC" refers to). The report also states that the relationship between STATS and CMPA is one of "common control".<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 18.</ref> because STATS shares the offices (in the pricey "K Street" lobbying district of Washington) and staff of CMPA.  
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STATS is a [[501(c)3]] non-profit organization but its 2006 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service states that "salary costs for the organization are shared with the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]]. CMPA ... reports the salary costs and files payroll reports under its tax identification number. DCFC is a related organization."<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 15.</ref> (It is not clear what "DCFC" refers to). (As noted above, there is no express reference in either organizations to the other PhD staff of the organizations being paid, other than Dr. Lichter.)
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 +
The report also states that the relationship between STATS and CMPA is one of "common control".<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 18.</ref> because STATS shares the offices (in the pricey "K Street" lobbying district of Washington) and staff of CMPA.  
  
 
In 2004, STATS became officially affiliated with [[George Mason University]] and displays the university logo at the foot of its webpages.<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_affiliations.htm "Affiliations"], accessed March 2008.</ref>  
 
In 2004, STATS became officially affiliated with [[George Mason University]] and displays the university logo at the foot of its webpages.<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_affiliations.htm "Affiliations"], accessed March 2008.</ref>  
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==Research STATS is promoting==
 
==Research STATS is promoting==
  
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STATS senior fellow Maia Szalavitz's 2006 book, "Help At Any Cost:  How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids"  <ref> Maia Szalavitz,"Help At Any Cost:  How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids." New York: Riverhead Books, 2006</ref> was the first book-length investigation of the billion dollar "tough love"  "boot camp" business that preys on parents and teenagers.  It helped spur Congressional hearings and two Government Accountability Office investigations [www.gao.gov/new.items/d08713t.pdf ] [http://www.gao.gov/htext/d08713t.html].  Szalavitz advised Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and GAO investigators before introduction of the bipartisan Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008, which passed the House in the summer of 2008. [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d110:6358:./list/bss/d110HR.lst::|TOM:/bss/110search.html|]. Szalavitz' op-ed in the New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/opinion/nyregionopinions/07CIszalavitz.html] on this issue prompted a state investigation of one facility, the Elan School in Maine.
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STATS senior fellow Maia Szalavitz's 2006 book, "Help At Any Cost:  How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids"  <ref> Maia Szalavitz,"Help At Any Cost:  How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids." New York: Riverhead Books, 2006</ref> was the first book-length investigation of the billion dollar "tough love"  "boot camp" business that preys on parents and teenagers.  It helped spur Congressional hearings and two Government Accountability Office investigations<ref>[www.gao.gov/new.items/d08713t.pdf], Government Accountability Office Hearing: "Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing"</ref>.  Szalavitz advised Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and GAO investigators before introduction of the bipartisan Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008, which passed the House in the summer of 2008. [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d110:6358:./list/bss/d110HR.lst::|TOM:/bss/110search.html|]. Szalavitz' op-ed in the New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/opinion/nyregionopinions/07CIszalavitz.html] on this issue prompted a state investigation of one facility, the Elan School in Maine.
  
 
In April of 2008, STATS released the results of a survey of climate scientists that showed that "Over eight out of ten American climate scientists believe that human activity contributes to global warming." The study, entitled "Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change" was released on April 24, 2008 and was conducted in conjunction with Harris interactive. <ref>S. Robert Lichter, "[http://stats.org/stories/2008/global_warming_survey_apr23_08.html Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change]," STATS, April 24, 2008.</ref>
 
In April of 2008, STATS released the results of a survey of climate scientists that showed that "Over eight out of ten American climate scientists believe that human activity contributes to global warming." The study, entitled "Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change" was released on April 24, 2008 and was conducted in conjunction with Harris interactive. <ref>S. Robert Lichter, "[http://stats.org/stories/2008/global_warming_survey_apr23_08.html Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change]," STATS, April 24, 2008.</ref>
  
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In an October 17, 2006 analysis titled "The Science of Counting the Dead," STATS' director of research, an MIT mathematician, [[Rebecca Goldin]] defended the epidemiological methods of the hotly debated Lancet II study on Iraqi war deaths against conservative critics. The analysis concluded that the study’s detractors,  "instead of dismissing over half a million dead people as a political ploy ... ought to embrace science as opening our eyes to a tragedy whose death scale has been vastly underestimated until now." <ref>Rebecca Goldin, "[http://stats.org/stories/the_science_ct_dead_oct17_06.htm The Science of Counting the Dead]," STATS, October 17, 2006.</ref>  
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In an October 17, 2006 analysis titled "The Science of Counting the Dead," STATS' director of research, an MIT mathematician, [[Rebecca Goldin]] defended the epidemiological methods of the hotly debated Lancet II study on Iraqi war deaths against conservative critics. The analysis concluded that the study’s detractors,  "instead of dismissing over half a million dead people as a political ploy ... ought to embrace science as opening our eyes to a tragedy whose death scale has been vastly underestimated until now." <ref>Rebecca Goldin, "[http://stats.org/stories/the_science_ct_dead_oct17_06.htm The Science of Counting the Dead]," STATS, October 17, 2006.</ref>
  
 
==Areas of Interest==
 
==Areas of Interest==
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**[http://www.stats.org/stats_analysis_8.htm "The New York Times' Other WMD Problem"], August 6, 2004
 
**[http://www.stats.org/stats_analysis_8.htm "The New York Times' Other WMD Problem"], August 6, 2004
 
*Iragi War Deaths
 
*Iragi War Deaths
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** [http://stats.org/stories/the_science_ct_dead_oct17_06.htm "The Science of Counting the Dead"],  
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** [http://stats.org/stories/the_science_ct_dead_oct17_06.htm "The Science of Counting the Dead"], October 17, 2006
−
October 17, 2006
+
*Economy
 +
**"The Myth of the Declining Middle Class" 
 +
***[http://stats.org/stories/2008/myth_decline_middle_june9_08.html An economist looks at the numbers: The Myth of the Declining Middle Class]
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***[http://stats.org/stories/2008/myth_income_decline_aug22_08.html The Myth of Income Decline]
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**[http://stats.org/stories/2008/how_bad_payday_loans_july18_08.html "How Bad Are Payday Loans?"], July 18, 2008
  
 
==Personnel==  
 
==Personnel==  
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The first director of STATS was [[David Murray (ONDCP)|David Murray]].
 
The first director of STATS was [[David Murray (ONDCP)|David Murray]].
  
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Their staff is listed as follows as of January 2008[http://www.stats.org/about_staff.htm]:
+
As of March 2014:<ref name="Staff">Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_staff.htm About: Staff], organizational website, accessed March 2014.</ref>
−
*[[Donald Rieck]], Executive Director
+
 
−
*[[Rebecca Goldin]], Director of Research
+
* [[S. Robert Lichter]], President and Editor-in-Chief
−
*[[Maia Szalavitz]], Senior Fellow, has written for the liberal publication ''The American Prospect''.
+
* [[Donald Rieck]], Executive Director
−
*[[Trevor Butterworth]], Editor
+
* [[Rebecca Goldin]], Director of Research
 +
* [[Maia Szalavitz]], Senior Fellow, has written for the liberal publication ''The American Prospect''
 +
* Stephen Rose, Senior Fellow
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* [[Jon Entine]], Senior Fellow
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* Geoffrey Kabat, Contributing Editor
 +
* [[Trevor Butterworth]], Editor at Large
 +
* Nirit Weiss, Contributing Editor
 +
 
 +
===Board of Directors===
 +
 
 +
As of March 2014:<ref name="Staff"/>
 +
 
 +
* [[Truman Anderson]] (Executive Director, Stuart Family Foundation), Chairman of the Board
 +
* [[Nell Minow]] (Editor, the Corporatelibrary.com), Treasurer & Secretary of the Board
 +
* [[David Gergen]] (Professor of Public Service, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government), Board Member
 +
* [[Danielle Struppa]] (Chancellor Chapman University), Board Member
 +
* [[Paul Mongerson]] (CEO, Stanadyne (Ret.), President and Director, CAMDAT Foundation), Board Member
 +
* [[Dodie McCracken]] (Chief Executive Officer, Arcadian Partners), Board Member     
 +
* [[Newton Minow]] (Former Chairman, [[Federal Communications Commission]]), Board Member Emeritus
 +
* [[Heather C. Dahl]] (Director, Analyst Relations, Neustar, Inc.), Board Member
 +
 
 +
====Former Board Members====
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 +
As of 2011:<ref>[http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2011/521/844/2011-521844456-08575bcc-9.pdf STATS Form 990], 2011.</ref>
 +
 
 +
* President: [[S. Robert Lichter]]
 +
* Chairman: [[Truman Anderson]]
 +
* Director: [[Dodie McCracken]]
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* Director: [[Nell Minow]]
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* Director: [[Paul Mongerson]]
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* Director: [[Heather C. Dahl]]
 +
* Executive Director: [[Donald L. Reick]]
 +
* Director Emeritus: [[David Gergen]]
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* Director Emeritus: [[Newton Minow]]
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 +
As of 2006:<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 6.</ref>
  
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===Officers & Directors===
 
−
According to STATS 2006 Annual return to the Internal Revenue Service, the office bearers and directors are<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2006/521/844/2006-521844456-02d22851-9.pdf 2006 Annual Return], page 6.</ref>:
 
 
*[[S. Robert Lichter]], President
 
*[[S. Robert Lichter]], President
−
*[[Linda Lichter]] Vice President
+
*[[Linda Lichter]] Vice President (since deceased)
 
*[[Robert D. Stuart, Jr.]], Director
 
*[[Robert D. Stuart, Jr.]], Director
 
*[[David Gergen]], Director
 
*[[David Gergen]], Director
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*[[Danielle Strupper]], Director
 
*[[Danielle Strupper]], Director
  
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==Advisory Board==
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===Advisory Board===
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Their Advisory Board, as of March 2008, is listed as<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_staff.htm "Staff"], accessed March 2008.</ref>:
+
 
 +
As of March 2014:<ref name="Staff"/>
 +
 
 +
* Thomas C. Childers (Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania)
 +
* Wolfgang Donsbach (President, World Association of Opinion Research)
 +
* Nicholas Eberstadt (Fellow, Center for Population Studies, Harvard University)
 +
* Neil Gilbert (Professor of Social Welfare, University of California Berkeley)
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* Scott O. Lilienfeld (Professor of Psychology, Emory University)
 +
* Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann (President, Allensbach Institut fur Demoskopie)
 +
* Nelson Polsby (Director, Institute of Government Studies, University of California Berkeley)
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* Harrison Pope (Director, Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, Harvard Medical School)
 +
* Stephen Strauss (''Toronto Globe and Mail'')
 +
* Humphrey Taylor (CEO & President, Louis Harris and Associates)
 +
* James Q. Wilson (Professor of Political Science)
 +
 
 +
====Former Advisory Board Members====
 +
 
 +
As of March 2008:<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_staff.htm "Staff"], accessed March 2008.</ref>
  
 
*[[Thomas C. Childers]], Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
 
*[[Thomas C. Childers]], Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
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*[[James Q. Wilson]], Professor of Political Science, UCLA
 
*[[James Q. Wilson]], Professor of Political Science, UCLA
  
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Former members of the Advisory Board include:
+
Other former members of the Advisory Board include:
 
*[[Sallie L. Baliunas]], Senior Scientist, George Marshall Institute and Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
 
*[[Sallie L. Baliunas]], Senior Scientist, George Marshall Institute and Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  
 
==Contact==
 
==Contact==
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Center for Media and Public Affairs<br>
 
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and Statistical Assessment Service<br>
 
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2100 L St NW, Suite 300<br>
 
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Washington, DC 20037<br>
 
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STATS line (202) 223 3193<br>
 
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CMPA line (202) 223 2942<br>
 
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Fax (202) 872 4014<br />
 
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Website: http://www.stats.org
 
  
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==Articles and resources==
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Statistical Assessment Service<br>
 +
933 N. Kenmore St., Suite 405 (this address is shared with the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]])<br>
 +
Arlington, VA 22201<br>
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Phone: (571) 319-0029<br>
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Fax: (202) 872 4014<br>
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Website: http://www.stats.org/<br>
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/STATS/107939876569<br>
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Twitter: [http://www.twitter.com/statsatgmu @STATSatGMU]
  
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===Related SourceWatch articles===
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==Articles and Resources==
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 +
===Related SourceWatch Articles===
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 +
* [[George Mason University]]
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* [[Genetic Literacy Project]]
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* [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]]
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* [[David Murray]]
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* [[Jon Entine]]
  
 
===References===
 
===References===
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
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===External resources===
 
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===External articles===
 
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[[Category:Front groups]][[Category:Consumer fronts]][[Category:Web fronts]][[Category:Pharmaceutical fronts]] [[category:Think tanks]]
 
[[Category:Front groups]][[Category:Consumer fronts]][[Category:Web fronts]][[Category:Pharmaceutical fronts]] [[category:Think tanks]]

Latest revision as of 23:04, 25 December 2019

Front groups badge.png

This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

The Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) touts itself as a "non-profit, non-partisan organization" but its funders are not transparent. It is an arm, or "sister organization," of the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA), and it is affiliated with the Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University. STATS in turn has two "sister organizations": the Genetic Literacy Project, which promotes GMOs; and EconoSTATS, which promotes privatization and opposes government regulation.[1]

STATS promotes itself as a disinterested, non-partisan guardian of scientific and statistical integrity to often unsuspecting media outlets. In the New York Review of Books, Michael Massing wrote "the Center for Media and Public Affairs was set up with conservative foundation money in the mid-1980s as part of a growing effort by the right to portray the American press as liberal and out of touch with mainstream America."[2] Reporters with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that STATS was a stealth defender of the chemical industry that did not disclose funders and was associated with Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) which had contracted with tobacco companies.[3]

From its inception, however, STATS has repeatedly attacked environmentalists, civil libertarians, feminists and other "liberals." The first director of STATS, David Murray, was not a statistician at all. His academic training was in anthropology, but he was often described in the media as a "statistician" when he commented on various topics. In a review of a book written by STATS authors, Salon noted that it was filled with "disingenuous maneuvers”. The review added, "It’s clear that while the authors are good at looking up articles in Lexis-Nexis, they aren’t playing straight with their readers . . . Their analyses and conclusions inevitably stack up in favor of the view that there are few environmental problems that less government spending won’t fix and that social dilemmas like racial discrimination are figments of overactive imagination. A fair review of the state of science journalism is always welcome, but this cleverly disguised example of corporate propaganda isn’t it."[4]


On its website, they state, "Since its founding in 1994, the non-profit, non-partisan Statistical Assessment Service - STATS - has become a much-valued resource on the use and abuse of science and statistics in the media. Our goals are to correct scientific misinformation in the media and in public policy resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge; and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on major scientific issues and controversies."[5]

Documents Contained at the Anti-Environmental Archives
Documents written by or referencing this person or organization are contained in the Anti-Environmental Archive, launched by Greenpeace on Earth Day, 2015. The archive contains 3,500 documents, some 27,000 pages, covering 350 organizations and individuals. The current archive includes mainly documents collected in the late 1980s through the early 2000s by The Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), an organization that tracked the rise of the so called "Wise Use" movement in the 1990s during the Clinton presidency. Access the index to the Anti-Environmental Archives here.

Funding

The STATS website did not list specific funding sources as of 2008 but states that "we do not take money from industry or industry-related groups".[6]

However, Media Transparency lists startup funding for STATS as having come from conservative funders including the John M. Olin Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation and the William H. Donner Foundation. Other funders include Richard Mellon Scaife's Carthage Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Earhart Foundation, John M. Olin Foundation and the Castle Rock Foundation. Media Transparency identifies the group as having gained 34 grants totaling $2,415,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2009.[7] See also a discussion of the funders of its sister organization, the Center for Media and Public Affairs.

Total recent funding

In its 2008 Annual return to the Internal Revenue Service, STATS reported that for that year it had total revenue of $75,485, all of which came in the form of contributions gifts and grants.

STATS's IRS return reports that the group's revenue for the preceding four years were as follows[8]:

  • 2004: $545,000
  • 2005: $100,000
  • 2006: $100,000
  • 2007: $100,000
  • 2008: $75,485

Stealth funding

It is unclear whether some of its funding is being provided via George Mason University, with which it is affiliated, because it is does not appear possible that the work of the organization, its research and website and other activities are being funded only via grants totalling $75,000. According to its website, the organization states that its staff includes Dr. Robert Lichter, Executive Director Donald Rieck (who previously worked for the Comcast corporation), Director of Research Dr. Rebecca Goldin (who acknowledges that grants from other sources fund some of her work for STATS), Senior Fellow Maia Szalavitz, Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Rose, Senior Fellow Trevor Butterworth who also serves as the Editor STATS.org, and Contributing Editor Dr. Nirit Weiss. Since the organization's affiliation with George Mason University in 2004, its reported funding as a 501(c)(3) organization has dropped dramatically while it has employed several PhD researchers, whose salaries cumulatively cannot possibly add up to merely $75,000. Additionally, in its most recent 990, STATS reports spending a small amount of its $75,000 in funding from that year on expenses like $1,772 for telephone bills, but it reports no expenses for its lease of space on Washington, DC high-priced lobbying corridor at 2100 L Street.

It seems that with the affiliation of the group with this right-wing university, significant work and output is being financially supported by GMU and others. For example, Dr. Lichter works as a professor at GMU, in addition to his work for STATS as does Dr. Goldin, who works as an Associate Professor at GMU. According to STATS' 2009 990 tax filing, Dr. Lichter is paid only $7,993 from STATS, but he makes an undisclosed sum from GMU. (STATS' sister organization reports that it pays Dr. Lichter $40,478 a year). Similarly, there is no reference to Dr. Goldin being compensated directly from STATS but she receives an unknown sum from GMU as an Associate Professor.

GMU, like many universities, seeks out corporate and other funding, beyond the amount provided by tuition. Funding for the work of STATS by GMU effectively allows research to be funded by a variety of sources, including corporate sources, indirectly via the university's budget and through grants, contracts or gifts that may require specific results and reports to funders of the univeristy. GMU states that it "has allied with local, national, and international corporations and foundations to enrich the research and teaching of our faculty and, ultimately, to enhance the educational experience of our students. To learn more about how Mason’s institutional priorities might intersect with your organization’s, contact our Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations."

GMU's major corporate funders include:

  • ExxonMobil Corporation
  • Lilly Endowment, Inc.
  • Lockheed Martin Corporation

Here are some of GMU's major foundation funders:

$10,000,000+

  • de Laski Family Foundation (funded by Donald and Kenneth De Laski, a father-son team who made a fortune as defense contractors, proving software and other support for Department of Defense operations and contractors)

$1,000,000 to $4,999,999

  • Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation (funded by one of the billionaires of Koch Industries, which is funding an array of Republican and right-wing ideological interests, including the Tea Party via front groups like Freedomworks)

GMU does have other smaller funders that have donated $499,999 or less, including some funding from mainstream or progressive funders as well as other conservative funders.

STATS & CMPA

STATS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization but its 2006 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service states that "salary costs for the organization are shared with the Center for Media and Public Affairs. CMPA ... reports the salary costs and files payroll reports under its tax identification number. DCFC is a related organization."[9] (It is not clear what "DCFC" refers to). (As noted above, there is no express reference in either organizations to the other PhD staff of the organizations being paid, other than Dr. Lichter.)

The report also states that the relationship between STATS and CMPA is one of "common control".[10] because STATS shares the offices (in the pricey "K Street" lobbying district of Washington) and staff of CMPA.

In 2004, STATS became officially affiliated with George Mason University and displays the university logo at the foot of its webpages.[11]

Research STATS is promoting

STATS senior fellow Maia Szalavitz's 2006 book, "Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids" [12] was the first book-length investigation of the billion dollar "tough love" "boot camp" business that preys on parents and teenagers. It helped spur Congressional hearings and two Government Accountability Office investigations[13]. Szalavitz advised Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and GAO investigators before introduction of the bipartisan Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008, which passed the House in the summer of 2008. [2]. Szalavitz' op-ed in the New York Times [3] on this issue prompted a state investigation of one facility, the Elan School in Maine.

In April of 2008, STATS released the results of a survey of climate scientists that showed that "Over eight out of ten American climate scientists believe that human activity contributes to global warming." The study, entitled "Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change" was released on April 24, 2008 and was conducted in conjunction with Harris interactive. [14]

In an October 17, 2006 analysis titled "The Science of Counting the Dead," STATS' director of research, an MIT mathematician, Rebecca Goldin defended the epidemiological methods of the hotly debated Lancet II study on Iraqi war deaths against conservative critics. The analysis concluded that the study’s detractors, "instead of dismissing over half a million dead people as a political ploy ... ought to embrace science as opening our eyes to a tragedy whose death scale has been vastly underestimated until now." [15]

Areas of Interest

The STATS website lists the following as areas in which they have preformed "in-depth analysis"[4]:

Personnel

Staff

The first director of STATS was David Murray.

As of March 2014:[16]

Board of Directors

As of March 2014:[16]

Former Board Members

As of 2011:[17]

As of 2006:[18]

Advisory Board

As of March 2014:[16]

  • Thomas C. Childers (Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania)
  • Wolfgang Donsbach (President, World Association of Opinion Research)
  • Nicholas Eberstadt (Fellow, Center for Population Studies, Harvard University)
  • Neil Gilbert (Professor of Social Welfare, University of California Berkeley)
  • Scott O. Lilienfeld (Professor of Psychology, Emory University)
  • Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann (President, Allensbach Institut fur Demoskopie)
  • Nelson Polsby (Director, Institute of Government Studies, University of California Berkeley)
  • Harrison Pope (Director, Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, Harvard Medical School)
  • Stephen Strauss (Toronto Globe and Mail)
  • Humphrey Taylor (CEO & President, Louis Harris and Associates)
  • James Q. Wilson (Professor of Political Science)

Former Advisory Board Members

As of March 2008:[19]

Other former members of the Advisory Board include:

  • Sallie L. Baliunas, Senior Scientist, George Marshall Institute and Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Contact

Statistical Assessment Service
933 N. Kenmore St., Suite 405 (this address is shared with the Center for Media and Public Affairs)
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: (571) 319-0029
Fax: (202) 872 4014
Website: http://www.stats.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/STATS/107939876569
Twitter: @STATSatGMU

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

References

  1. ↑ STATS, STATS, organizational website, accessed March 2014.
  2. ↑ Michael Massing, "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2006/02/09/the-enemy-within-an-exchange/ ‘The Enemy Within’: An Exchange ]," The New York Review of Books, February 9, 2006.
  3. ↑ Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 22, 2009 http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/54195297.html/
  4. ↑ David Appell, Salon, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” by David Murray, et al. JUL 2, 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20170313025504/http://www.salon.com:80/2001/07/02/murray_4
  5. ↑ [1], Stats.org, "About Us"
  6. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, "Contribute", accessed March 2008.
  7. ↑ Grants to Statistical Assessment Service, from MediaTransparency. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010
  8. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, "Form 990: 2008", February 2007, page 12.
  9. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, 2006 Annual Return, page 15.
  10. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, 2006 Annual Return, page 18.
  11. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, "Affiliations", accessed March 2008.
  12. ↑ Maia Szalavitz,"Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids." New York: Riverhead Books, 2006
  13. ↑ [www.gao.gov/new.items/d08713t.pdf], Government Accountability Office Hearing: "Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing"
  14. ↑ S. Robert Lichter, "Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don’t Trust the Media’s Coverage of Climate Change," STATS, April 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ Rebecca Goldin, "The Science of Counting the Dead," STATS, October 17, 2006.
  16. ↑ Jump up to: 16.0 16.1 16.2 Statistical Assessment Service, About: Staff, organizational website, accessed March 2014.
  17. ↑ STATS Form 990, 2011.
  18. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, 2006 Annual Return, page 6.
  19. ↑ Statistical Assessment Service, "Staff", accessed March 2008.
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