Council for Media Integrity

An educational outreach and advocacy program of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI)

The Council for Media Integrity was founded in the summer of 1996 at the first World Skeptics Congress, held at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The Council is comprised of a network of distinguished international scientists, academics, and members of the media concerned with the balanced portrayal of science in the media. Members of the Council include E.O. Wilson, Martin Gardner, and Sir John Maddox.

Accomplishments of the Council to date include:

Establishing the “Candle in the Dark Award” to honor and publicize accurate and inspiring views of science in the media.

1997:

Candle in the Dark Award: Bill Nye, PBS Television’s Science Guy
Snuffed Candle Award: Dan Akroyd, for promotion of the paranormal on his pseudo-documentary Psi-Factor

1998:

Candle in the Dark Award: PBS Television’s Scientific American Frontiers
Snuffed Candle Award: Art Bell, radio talk-show host

Issuing an advisory, endorsed by Council members Paul Kurtz and entertainer Steve Allen, to U.S. newspapers asking them to print a disclaimer alongside horoscope columns. Currently, close to 70 papers have adopted this policy.
Assembling an email database of “media watchdogs” willing to exert grassroots pressure on media conglomerates in response to paranormal and pseudoscientific programming. (Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to join)
Numerous op-ed submissions to newspapers by Council members advocating a more balanced portrayal of science by the media.
Creating a Media Stock Fund, an effort to acquire stock in large media conglomerates in a hope to leverage sound scientific programming.

Skeptical Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason, has tirelessly advocated for balance and accuracy in the media. For instance, Eugene Emery, a science reporter with the Providence Journal, contributes regularly to SKEPTICAL INQUIRER’s Media Watch. column. He also writes a yearly press release on failed psychic predictions that annually prompts numerous print articles and radio interviews. In the past, Emery has served as a speaker at the World Skeptics Congress and other national and international conferences.

In an era of tabloid news, pleas for accuracy and balance must become more insistent and pervasive. The Council for Media Integrity can actively promote the importance of scientific literacy, and the appreciation of the scientific method and critical thinking.

Coordinating Committee

Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus, SUNY at Buffalo, chair emeritus, Center for Inquiry
Joe Nickell, senior research fellow, CSICOP
Barry Karr, executive director, CSICOP
William Evans,prof. of communications Georgia State University
Matt Nisbet, coordinator, CMI

Members

Phillip Adams, TV / film producer
Alun Mark Anderson, editor, New Scientist
Stephen Barrett, M.D., psychiatrist, doctor
Susan J. Blackmore, psychologist, University of the West of England
Jim Bohannon, syndicated radio broadcaster
Barbara Lynn Eisenstadt, exec. dir., Creative Options
Kendrick Frazier, editor, Skeptical Inquirer
Martin Gardner, Science Writer
George Gerbner, prof. communications, University of Pennsylvania
Paul R. Gross, biologist, University of Virginia
Van Harvey, religious studies educator, Stanford University
Gerald Holton, physicist, Harvard University
Donald Johanson, Institute of Human Origins
Leonard Krishtalka, director, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas
Edwin C. Krupp, director, Griffith Observatory
Norman Levitt, professor of mathematics, Rutgers University
Jere Lipps, director, Museum of Paleontology, University of California at Berkeley
Sir John Maddox, editor emeritus, Nature
Gerald Piel, former president, AAAS; former publisher, Scientific American
John Rennie, editor-in-chief, Scientific American
Wallace Sampson, MD, professor of medicine, Stanford University
Amardeo Sarma, project supervisor, EURESCOM
David Schwimmer, paleontologist, Columbus College, Georgia
Eugenie C. Scott, anthropologist, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education, Inc., Berkeley, CA
E.O. Wilson, Harvard University