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== Books ==The following books were written by thenIn March 2018, Arn Pearson became CMD’s Executive Director, succeeding Lisa Graves, who served as executive director from 2009-CMD staff, [[John Stauber]] 2018 and [[Sheldon Rampton]]:* ''[http://wwwcurrently serves as board President.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy.html Toxic Sludge is Good For You!]''* ''[http://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html Mad Cow U.S.A.]''*''[http://www.prwatch.org/books/CMD’s team includes researchers, data experts, FOIA experts.html Trust Us, We're Experts! How Industry Manipulates Science lawyers, and Gambles With Your Future]'' *''[http://www.prwatch.org/books/wmd.html Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq]; [http://www.bananarepublicans.org Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America Into a Onefact-Party State]'' *''[http://www.prwatchcheckers.org/books/tbwe The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies and the Mess in Iraq]''
== People =====Staff===* [[Lisa Graves]], Executive Director* [[Mary Bottari]], Director of the Real Economy Project* [[Wendell Potter]], Senior Fellow on Health Care* [http://wwwCMD is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit.prwatch.org/cmd/bios.php/Patricia_Barden Patricia Barden], Webmaster* [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios.php/Bob_Burton Bob Burton], SourceWatch Editor* [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios/Conor_Kenny Conor Kenny], consultant* [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios/Anne_Landman Anne Landman], TobaccoWiki Editor* [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios/Sari_Williams Sari Williams], Office and Outreach Manager* [[John Stauber]], Founder and Advisor
===Board of Directors===* [[Deborah Bey]]* [[Lisa Graves]]* [[David Merritt]]* [[Joe Mendelson]]* [[Inger Stole]]* [[Ellen Braune]]* [[Jan Miyasaki]]__TOC__
Over its history, CMD has received over $500 from the following foundations: [http://www.prwatch.org/finances.html]==Non-Partisan Advocacy==
* [[Bydale Foundation]]* [[Careth Foundation]]* [[Carolyn Foundation]]* [[Changing Horizons Charitable Trust]]* [[CS Fund]]* [[Deer Creek Foundation]]* [[DJB Foundation]]* [[Educational Foundation The group presents itself as a nonpartisan media research organization and its principals have criticized people and policies in both of America]]* [[Florence and John Schumann Foundation]]* [[Foundation for Deep Ecology]]* [[Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund]]* [[Grodzins Fund]]* [[HKH Foundation]]* [[Homeland Foundation]]* [[Jenifer Altman Foundation]]* [[Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation]]* [[Litowitz Foundation]]* [[Ottinger Foundation]]* [[Rockwood Fund]]* [[Roy the major political parties in the U.S. and Niuta Titus Foundation]]* [[Sperling Foundation]]* [[Stern Family Fund]]* [[Town Creek Foundation]]* [[Turner Foundation]]* [[Winslow Foundation]]interest groups across the political spectrum.
The Center does === Example of CMD'''not''' accept corporate, labor union or government grants. [http://prwatch.org/finances.html][[Category:Real Economy Project]]s Critiques ===
== Contact ==The CMD book ''[[Banana Republicans]]'' documents that the right wing in the United States regards politics as a form of "war by other means." The book notes that notwithstanding self-named "conservatives" have a "stated aversion to 'big government,' when in control of the federal government they did not hesitate to expand its powers in precisely those areas that are most threatening to individual freedoms, through the [[Patriot Act I|USA Patriot Act]] and other measures that authorize spying on citizens and detentions without trial. The likelihood that such inherently abusive powers will be misused has increased, moreover, as the [[conservative]] movement accuses its ideological adversaries of 'treason,' '[[terrorism]]' and 'un-Americanism,' threatening long-standing traditions of tolerance and diversity. ... In sum, the direction in which forces in the [[GOP]] are moving looks - at times absurdly, at times ominously - similar to the 'banana republics' of Latin America: nations dominated by narrow corporate elites, which use the pretext of national security to violate the rights of their citizens."
The group presents itself as a nonpartisan media research organization '''Former Staff'''*Lisa Graves, Executive Director*Mary Bottari, Deputy Director*Patricia Barden, IT Director*Jordan Barden, Webmaster*Evan Vorpahl, Researcher*Nick Surgey, Director of Research*Jamie Corey, Researcher*Brendan Fischer, General Counsel*Jessica Mason, Researcher*Sari Williams, Office and Outreach Manager*Nikolina Lazic, Executive Assistant*Calvin Sloan, Researcher and Multimedia Specialist*Friday Thorn, Digital Editor*Jonas Persson, Writer*Rebekah Wilce, Reporter and its principals have criticized people Researcher*Harriet Rowan, Reporter*Wendell Potter, Honorary Senior Fellow*Abdul Raziq, Writer*Emily Osborne, Reporter*Sara Jerving, Reporter*Jonathan Rosenblum, Contributor*Beau Hodai, Contributor*Will Dooling, Researcher*Anne Landman, Managing Editor*Ben Tobias, Researcher*Steve Horn, Contributor*Dave Johnson, Contributor*Eric Carlson, Researcher*Jennifer Page, Researcher and policies in both of the major political parties Writer*Kate Rhudy, Policy Counsel*[[John Stauber]], Founder in the U.S. and interest groups across the political spectrum. 1993, former Executive Director, retired July 2009
The CMD book ''[[Banana Republicans]]'' documents that the right wing in the United States regards politics as a form of "war by other means." The book notes that notwithstanding self-named "conservatives" have a "stated aversion to 'big government,' when in control of the federal government they did not hesitate to expand its powers in precisely those areas that are most threatening to individual freedoms, through the [[Patriot Act I|USA Patriot Act]] and other measures that authorize spying on citizens and detentions without trial. The likelihood that such inherently abusive powers will be misused has increased, moreover, as the [[conservative]] movement accuses its ideological adversaries of 'treason,' '[[terrorism]]Former Directors' and 'un-Americanism,' threatening long-standing traditions of tolerance and diversity. ... In sum, the direction in which forces in the * [[GOPTed Nace]] are moving looks - at times absurdly, at times ominously - similar to the 'banana republics' of Latin America: nations dominated by narrow corporate elites, which use the pretext of national security to violate the rights of their citizens."
The book warns that one-party domination of politics carries the danger of "incestuous amplification," a tendency for policymakers to "only listens to those who are already in lock-step agreement, reinforcing set beliefs and creating a situation ripe for miscalculation." It notes that in one-party dictatorships like Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union, "hierarchical, command-driven social systems" were "notorious for their tendency to make disastrous decisions, in the areas of both domestic and foreign policy." With regard to the United States, the book argues that "incestuous amplification" helps explain "how the [[Bush administration]] managed to convince itself that [[Iraq]] truly did possess awesome [[weapons of mass destruction]], that it was closely tied to [[al Qaeda]], and that the people of Iraq would greet a U.S. [[invasion of Iraq|invasion]] of their country as liberation. Much of the administration's intelligence information about Iraq actually came from the [[Iraqi National Congress]] (INC), an organization created and funded by the U.S. government at the behest of the [[George H.W. Bush administration|first Bush administration]] ==Contact Information==Center for the purpose of creating conditions for [[Saddam Hussein]]'s overthrow. Not surprisingly, the information from the INC Media and its head, [[Ahmed Chalabi]], tended to reinforce the already-existing assumptions of policymakers in the second Bush administrationDemocracy<br>520 University Ave<br>Ste 305<br>Madison, even when that information contradicted other reports coming from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|U.S. Central Intelligence Agency]]." WI 53703<br>
The book argues that incestuous amplification can also distort other areas of knowledge and policy, such as scienceWebsite: https://www. It notes that Bush administration routinely subordinated science to politics, with potentially dangerous consequencesexposedbycmd. "To inform its decisions on issues including sex education, environmental health, [[global warming]], workplace safety and [[HIVorg<br>Email: editor@prwatch.org<br>Twitter: https:/AIDS|AIDS]], the Bush administration has used a variety of political litmus tests to create scientific panels stacked heavily with members who have scant scientific credentials but strong industry ties and right-wing agendas/twitter. It had [[web scrubbing|altered]] official government websites, removing scientific information that contradicts the political views of industry groups and the conservative movementcom/exposedbycmd<br>Facebook: https://www. In some cases, scientists have been ordered to remain silent by their politically appointed higher-upsfacebook."com/CenterforMediaandDemocracy/<br>
Some contend that CMD ==Books==* ''[https://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy.html Toxic Sludge is not neutral because its founder, John Stauber, is "a democracy activist in leadership roles since high school around controversial issues of war, peace, public affairs, environmental health and social justice." CMD has been criticized for having an anti-corporate viewpoint by [[industry]Good For You!] ''* ''[[lobbyisthttps://www.prwatch.org/books/madcow.html Mad Cow U.S.A.]]s like ''*''[[Berman & Cohttps://www.prwatch.org/books/experts.]]html Trust Us, a public affairs firm owned by [[Rick BermanWe're Experts! How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles With Your Future]] specializing in creating '' *''[[front groups]] for industry clients in the tobacco, food, biotechnology and other sectorshttps://www.prwatch. [[ActivistCashorg/books/wmd.comhtml Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq]], an '' * ''[[industryhttp://www.bananarepublicans.org Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America Into a One-funded organizations|industry-fundedParty State]] website run by Berman & Co'' *''[https://www.prwatch. org/books/tbwe The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies and associated with Bermanthe Mess in Iraq]''s [[Center for Consumer Freedom]], has run such critiques.
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[[image:CMDlogo.png|thumb|400px||Center for Media and Democracy]]'''The Center for Media and Democracy''' (CMD), is a nationally recognized watchdog founded in 1993 by [[John Stauber]]that leads in-depth investigations into the corruption that undermines our democracy, environment, and economic prosperity. It is a [[progressive]] organization led by [[Lisa Graves]]. According to its <ref>Center for Media and Democracy, [httphttps://www.prwatchexposedbycmd.org/about-cmd/indexAbout], ''CMD'', 2022.html </ref> CMD manages this website], CMD "strengthens participatory democracy by investigating and exposing [[public relations]] [[spin]] and [[propaganda]]SourceWatch.org, and by promoting [[media]] literacy and [[citizen journalism]]ALECExposed.org." CMD publishes original research and featured documents it obtains on its blog [httphttps://www.prwatchexposedbycmd.org PR Watch], [[SourceWatch]], and [http://www.BanksterUSAExposedbyCMD.org BanksterUSA].
== Funding News==The latest news from the Center for Media and Democracy can be found on its blog [https://www.exposedbycmd.org here].
The book warns that one-party domination of politics carries the danger of "incestuous amplification," a tendency for policymakers to "only listens to those who are already in lock-step agreement, reinforcing set beliefs and creating a situation ripe for miscalculation." It notes that in one-party dictatorships like Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union, "hierarchical, command-driven social systems" were "notorious for their tendency to make disastrous decisions, in the areas of both domestic and foreign policy." With regard to the United States, the book argues that "incestuous amplification" helps explain "how the [[Bush administration]] managed to convince itself that [[Iraq]] truly did possess awesome [[weapons of mass destruction]], that it was closely tied to [[al Qaeda]], and that the people of Iraq would greet a U.S. [[invasion of Iraq|invasion]] of their country as liberation. Much of the administration's intelligence information about Iraq actually came from the [[Iraqi National Congress]] (INC), an organization created and funded by the U.S. government at the behest of the [[George H.W. Bush administration|first Bush administration]] for the purpose of creating conditions for [[Saddam Hussein]]'s overthrow. Not surprisingly, the information from the INC and its head, [[Ahmed Chalabi]], tended to reinforce the already-existing assumptions of policymakers in the second Bush administration, even when that information contradicted other reports coming from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|U.S. Central Intelligence Agency]]." The book argues that incestuous amplification can also distort other areas of knowledge and policy, such as science. It notes that Bush administration routinely subordinated science to politics, with potentially dangerous consequences. "To inform its decisions on issues including sex education, environmental health, [[global warming]], workplace safety and [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]], the Bush administration has used a variety of political litmus tests to create scientific panels stacked heavily with members who have scant scientific credentials but strong industry ties and right-wing agendas. It had [[web scrubbing|altered]] official government websites, removing scientific information that contradicts the political views of industry groups and the conservative movement. In some cases, scientists have been ordered to remain silent by their politically appointed higher-ups."==Criticism==Some contend that CMD is not neutral. CMD has been criticized for having an anti-corporate viewpoint by [[lobbyist]]s such as [[Berman & Co.]], a public affairs firm owned by [[Rick Berman]] specializing in creating [[front groups]] for industry clients in the tobacco, food, biotechnology and other sectors. [[ActivistCash.com]], an [[industry-funded organizations|industry-funded]] website run by Berman & Co. and associated with Berman's [[Center for Media Consumer Freedom]], has run such critiques. ==Funding==CMD voluntarily discloses its major funders on its website. The following foundations and Democracygenerous individuals have donated $5,000 or more to support the work of CMD since January 1, 2020:<brref name="about"/>520 University Ave*American Federation of Teachers*Cloud Mountain Foundation*Common Counsel Foundation*Community Shares of Wisconsin*Craigslist Charitable Fund*CREDOMobile*East Bay Community Foundation*Wendy A. Fearnside*Andrew J.<br>Goodman*Hopewell Fund*Christina Jonsson Charity*Gordon LaferSuite 227<br>*Mindy Loiselle & Lanny Levenson Gift Fund*Madison, WI 53703<br>Community Foundationphone (608) 260-9713<br>*Marisla Foundationfax: 608-260-9714<br>*Mazess FundEmail: email editor AT prwatch*Stewart R.org <br>Mott Foundation*Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund*Park FoundationWeb: http://www*Nancy D.prwatchPeterson*Piper Fund*Michael L.org/Schler*Sustainability Group*Sustainable Grantmaking Partners Fund*Tides Foundation*Trehan Foundation*Wallace Global Fund*Wildbasil Fund
== Non-Partisan Advocacy Personnel=====Staff===As of February 2022:<ref>Center for Media and Democracy, [https://www.exposedbycmd.org/our-team/ Our Team], ''CMD'', accessed February 2022.</ref>*Arn Pearson, Executive Director*Eric Wittstein, Director of Operations and Development*David Armiak, Research Director*Alex Kotch, Investigative Reporter*Don Wiener, Contributor
=== Example Board of CMD's Critiques Directors===As of February 2022:<ref name="about">CMD, [https://www.exposedbycmd.org/about-cmd/ About CMD], ''CMD'', accessed February 2022.</ref>*[[Lisa Graves]], President*Deborah Bey*Ellen Braune*Cosmo Harrigan*Gordon Lafer*Nancy MacLean*Jan Miyasaki*Bo Yerxa
== Criticism Articles and Resources=====IRS Form 990 Filings===<div class="docframe"><p>2020</p><p>{{#widget:Iframe|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20971359-center-for-media-and-democracy-2020-990|width=350|height=250}}</p></div>{{Clear}}
=== Other organizations with similar names ===
CMD was founded in 1993. Since then a number of other '''unaffiliated''' organizations with similar names have arisen. They also are named, or have in their name, "Center for Media and Democracy." These different groups include:
*[[DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy]] - a research center at Duke University that supports "democratic free media in the United States and around the globe" [http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/centers/dewitt/about.html]
*[[CCTV Center for Media and Democracy]] - a Burlington, Vermont community media center (CCTV stands for Chittenden Community Television) with a mission of ensuring "free speech and opportunity in the increasingly centralized and commercialized world of electronic media" [http://www.cctv.org/index.php?SiteAlias=cctv&PageAlias=CCTV_About]
==References==
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