About CMD

The Center for Media and Democracy is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, public interest organization that focuses on:

Investigating and countering spin by corporations, industries, and government agencies that affects our health, liberty, security, economic opportunities, environment, and the vitality of the democratic process.
Informing and assisting grassroots action that promotes public health, economic justice, ecological sustainability, human rights, and democratic principles.
Advancing transparency and media literacy to help people recognize the forces shaping the information they receive about important issues affecting their lives.
Promoting "open content" media that enable people from all walks of life to "be the media" and help write the history of these times.

CMD is led by Lisa Graves and was founded by John Stauber in 1993.

To see what journalists say about CMD, including the Bill Moyers, Eric Schlosser, Amy Goodman, late Molly Ivins and others, click here.

CMD's Board of Directors includes Deborah Bey, Ellen Braune, Joseph Mendelson, David Merritt, Jan Miyasaki, Inger Stole, and executive director Lisa Graves.

The Center:

Publishes SourceWatch, a specialized, collaborative encyclopedia of people, groups and issues shaping the public agenda.
Launches original Investigations into issues such as the widespread reliance on FakeTV News and misinformation about U.S. surveillance practices and national security policies.
Publishes PRWatch and The Weekly Spin, which provides original reporting and analysis of spin and significant stories in the news.
Supports public education campaigns, such as our most recent response to the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case expanding corporate "rights," our continuing role in the national security surveillance coalition and on national security and human rights issues, and our successful Defend The Press campaign with the National Press Club and other partners.
And staffs the PR Watchdog Resource Center, including answering inquiries from journalists and other members of the public and sharing best practices.