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{{#badges: Front groups}}The '''Statistical Assessment Service''' (STATS) touts itself as a "non-profit, non-partisan organization" that describes itself on the front page of its Web site as but is a "sister organization" stealth PR operation of the [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] (CMPA).
==STATS & CMPA ==
STATS is a [[501(c)3]] non-profit organisation 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>Since STATS shares the offices (in the pricey "K Street " lobbying district of Washington) and staff of CMPA, it should be considered as a front, rather than a subsidiary or spin-off.
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>
STATS self-promotion as a disinterested, non-partisan guardian of scientific and statistical integrity to often [[Media:Example.ogg]]unsuspecting media outlets. It has been surprisingly successful in this effortguise, with many persons and organisations citing
STATS (especially, its [http://www.stats.org stats.org web site]), for
example, the University of Iowa's Journalism school and <ref>[http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/statistics_txt.html "Statistical and Demographic Resources for Journalists"], University of Iowa, accessed March 2008.</ref>
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.
From its inception, however, STATS has criticized 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.
Dr. [[Rebecca Goldin]], a mathematician with a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D from MIT, who is on the faculty of George Mason University, is the current director of research.
[[Category:Front groups]][[Category:Consumer fronts]][[Category:Web fronts]][[Category:Pharmaceutical fronts]][[category:Think tanks]]
