Mission: Biased, agenda-driven news and information are driving division in the United States and misleading the populace. The Media Research Center has been studying and documenting media bias in network newscasts since 1987 and works diligently to provide reliable, fact-driven information about the media because the American people deserve to be told the truth. The MRC provides cutting-edge news monitoring services to help educate the public about misleading news, bias by omission and commission, and more.
In addition, one of the biggest threats facing conservatives is online censorship of conservative views by Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other big tech firms. The MRC is leading the fight to expose tech firm policies that suppress speech and force tech firms to uphold the principles of free speech.
Media Research Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1988, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Contact Information
1900 Campus Commons Drive
Suite 600
Reston VA 20191
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Media Research Center is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
This charity's score is 77.05, earning it a 2-Star rating. Charity Navigator believes donors can "Give with Confidence" to charities with 3- and 4-Star ratings.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 68.31 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 93.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
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The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).
This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
Governance: | |
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Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
Compensates Board ... (More) |
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
Policies: | |
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Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
Whistleblower ... (More) | |
Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) | Partial |
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
Transparency: | |
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CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
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This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Publishing activities (BMF activity code: 120)
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Many of our donors rely on personal visits from our fundraisers. This is something we were unable to do during the pandemic.
In 2020, the organization obtained a loan pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) and a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which can be forgiven if used for qualifying expenses under the CARES Act.
Fortunately, our team was still able to work from home and produce great media analysis, videos, and original news.
We launched Zoom briefings to stay in touch with donors and keep them abreast of the latest
Our Zoom updates are something we will still employ on appropriate occasions.
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Media Research Center cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Do you work at Media Research Center? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
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Media Research Center reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
News Analysis Division
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Cybercast News Service
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Media Research Center Action
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
out of 100
The score earned by Media Research Center is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
Biased, agenda-driven news and information are driving division in the United States and misleading the populace. The Media Research Center has been studying and documenting media bias in network newscasts since 1987 and works diligently to provide reliable, fact-driven information about the media because the American people deserve to be told the truth. The MRC provides cutting-edge news monitoring services to help educate the public about misleading news, bias by omission and commission, and more. Online censorship by Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other big tech firms is oppressive and authoritarian. The Big Tech companies are more powerful than any the world has ever known, and they have massive global influence. The MRC is leading the fight to expose tech firm policies that suppress speech and force tech firms to uphold the principles of free speech.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
The MRC aims to create a media culture in America where truth and liberty flourish.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Expand our database of verified incidents of censorship, suspensions, etc. and prove online censorship through data and storytelling. Work to educate the public & lawmakers about Section 230 reform.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Ensure that Big Tech censorship and media bias remain a national concern by producing, distributing, and marketing written and video content providing examples and analysis.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Three: Grow the size, impact, influence and relevance of our Free Speech Alliance with a special focus on working with state-based organizations and international organizations.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
All members of the MRC leadership team have multiple opportunities to receive training, attend conferences, and engage with other allied nonprofit leaders to ensure that they are growing professionally as an individual, keep current with industry best practices, and identify ways MRC can increase our impact. Additionally, MRC’s leaders gather offsite annually to discuss current challenges and opportunities and develop strategies to guide and grow the organization. Leaders mentor and guide the development of junior leaders within the organizations by offering numerous training and opportunities to grow into leadership roles.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Policy Advocacy
Our leadership holds numerous meetings with outside nonprofits and individuals in the private and public sectors. These meetings serve informational and educational purposes, establish and build our networks, and guide our advocacy efforts. MRC created a coalition, the Free Speech Alliance, which has grown to 100 members, including 10 international partners, and works in tandem to drive policy advocacy. Our CEO has been leading a group of 30 allied organizations in discussions on how our movement can change to meet the needs of the people in the current political environment, leading to the creation of a new organization. In addition, we publish and market our extensive research, which has been used by numerous national political and policy leaders; we regularly present at conferences; our experts and leaders appear in TV interviews, and our articles are featured multiple times a week in print and on digital outlets.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
With COVID-19 continuing to be a challenge for the organization and the country as a whole, the MRC rose to the challenge by continuing our work. Free Speech America demonstrated censorship by Big Tech organizations by expanding our database of incidents and publishing numerous influential reports. The Free Speech Alliance met overseas and is planning an international event for 2022. The studies by our News Analysis Division revealed the issues the media wanted to hide and the narratives they promoted in 2021. Our MRCTV division traveled west to create a documentary about the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline. And we examined media claims of "voter suppression" by examining the facts and providing relevant coverage.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
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Founder and President
Chairman
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
out of 100
Media Research Center has earned a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating. The organization provided data about how it listens to constituents (Constituent Feedback) (see report below).
The Culture & Community Beacon is comprised of the following metrics:
Constituent Feedback: 100/100 (100% of beacon score)
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: Not Scored
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This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
100% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
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