-Caveat Lector- Media's New Sugar Daddies: Foundations By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane Tuesday, May 15, 2001; Page A15 Tax-exempt foundations are quietly spending millions to fund journalism fellowships, finance media watchdog organizations and even pay the bills for major newspaper, radio and television reporting projects. As a consequence, these nonprofits have established "a significant beachhead in serious journalism and in some unexpected places, such as Glamour magazine and MTV," writes former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Rick Edmonds in a provocative new Poynter Institute report. The Pew Charitable Trusts of Philadelphia is the biggest player in the news business, Edmonds wrote. Pew has pledged $10.9 million to fund the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Committee of Concerned Journalists. It will spend $11 million to support the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which conducts surveys on politics and policy issues. Pew also has committed $5.8 million to support Terrence Smith's media reporting unit at PBS for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation of Menlo Park, Calif., is the other prominent foundation helping to make news. Kaiser has ongoing relationships with The Washington Post and National Public Radio to do news surveys. (The writers of this column work closely with senior Kaiser staffers and researchers at Harvard University on these polls, with the foundation paying most of the cost.) Kaiser, with an institutional emphasis on public health issues, also has hooked up with Glamour magazine, MTV and Black Entertainment Television to do news projects. It recently announced a partnership with the PBS show "HealthWeek" to produce 12 special segments on health policy. Edmonds says foundations don't dictate content or otherwise meddle in news operations. But he warns that foundation dollars could mean some stories of interest to the foundation get lavish coverage while other stories do not -- a troubling "exercise in journalistic agenda-setting." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
