Statistical Assessment Service

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 is a 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." The report also states that the relationship between STATS and CMPA is one of "common control". 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. While STATS effectively operates as a part of CMPA's operations, it makes no mention of the connection between the two organizations on its website.

STATS self-promotion 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 organisations citing STATS (especially, its stats.org web site), for example, the University of Iowa's Journalism school and and the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point as an authoritative or useful resource.

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.

Funding

The STATS website did not list funding sources as of 2008. 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 $1,925,000 (unadjusted for inflation) between 1995 and 2005.

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. 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).

The group's annual return also indicates that in 2005/2006, the group ran a deficit of over $210,000.

Areas of Interest

The STATS website lists the following as areas in which they have preformed "in-depth analysis"[1]:

• General
  • "College Ranking Mania: The Washington Monthly’s Bizarre Best College List" August, 2006
• Health
  • "What Science Really Says About the Benefits of Breast-Feeding (and what the New York Times didn’t tell you)", June 20, 2006
  • "Toy Tantrums - The Debate Over the Safety of Phthalates", January 30, 2006
  • "Teflon Is Not Forever: Why the Editors of Mother Jones Need To Be Hit Over the Head with a Frying Pan", May 2, 2007
  • "Will a Few Extra Pounds Lead to a Longer Life?", May 24, 2005
• Public Policy
  • "Dueling Numbers on Asbestos Claims", November 10, 2005
• Drugs
  • "The New York Times' Other WMD Problem", August 6, 2004

Personnel

Staff

The first director of STATS was David Murray.

Their staff is listed as follows as of January 2008[2]:

• Donald Rieck, Executive Director
• Rebecca Goldin, Director of Research
• Maia Szalavitz, Senior Fellow, has written for the liberal publication The American Prospect.
• Trevor Butterworth, Editor

Officers & Directors

According to STATS 2006 Annual return to the Internal Revenue Service, the office bearers and directors are:

• S. Robert Lichter, President
• Linda Lichter Vice President
• Robert D. Stuart, Jr., Director
• David Gergen, Director
• Newton Minow, Director
• Nell Minow, Director
• Paul Mongerson, Director
• Danielle Strupper, Director

Advisory Board

Their Advisory Board is listed as follows as of March 2008[3]:

• 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, UCLA

Former members of the Advisory Board include:

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

Contact

Center for Media and Public Affairs
and Statistical Assessment Service
2100 L St NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037
STATS line (202) 223 3193
CMPA line (202) 223 2942
Fax (202) 872 4014
Website: http://www.stats.org