The Scaife Foundations refer collectively to three foundations in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . The three subdivisions are: the Allegheny Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the Scaife Family Foundation. A fourth foundation, the Carthage Foundation, was folded into the Sarah Scaife Foundation in 2014. From 2003 to 2010, the foundations were among the largest contributors to the climate change denial movement.
47-451: RealClearPolitics ( RCP ) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator . The site was formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan . It features selected political news stories and op-eds from various news publications in addition to commentary and original content from its own contributors. RCP receives its most traffic during election seasons and
94-688: A 51% equity interest in the site in 2007. On May 19, 2015, RealClearInvestors and Crest Media announced that they had bought out Forbes's stake for an undisclosed amount. RealClearPolitics also owns RealClearMarkets, RealClearWorld, and RealClearSports. RealClearMarkets and RealClearSports were launched in November 2007. RealClearWorld, the international news and politics site, was launched in August 2008. RealClearScience and RealClearReligion launched in October 2010. RealClearHistory launched in 2012. In 2013, RealClearDefense
141-524: A U.S. intelligence officer who blew the whistle on the Trump–Ukraine scandal . The article's publication came as part of a month-long effort by Trump allies on media and social media to "unmask" the whistleblower, whose identity was kept confidential by the U.S. government, in accordance with whistleblower protection (anti-retaliation) laws. Most publications declined to reveal the whistleblower's identity; Tom Kuntz, editor of RealClearInvestigations, defended
188-487: A balanced view of the political landscape. The site's utility was recognized by figures such as Politico ' s executive editor Jim VandeHei, who called it an essential resource for political enthusiasts. The Chicago Sun-Times in 2012 also acknowledged the site's balanced selection of stories, and BuzzFeed’s top editor praised its polling average as highly reliable. The site has shown a conservative inclination in its content and commentary, as noted by various sources over
235-707: A huge force. Their polling average is the Dow Jones of campaign coverage." Right before Super Tuesday during the 2016 presidential primaries, Bevan called Super Tuesday for Donald Trump, telling The New York Times , "It will be a Trump tsunami" and predicting a Trump victory in every state holding a primary that day except for Texas. An article in The New York Times said that "top political analysts" raised concerns about RealClearPolitics polling averages influenced by polls skewing towards Trump and not adhering to "best practices like person-to-person phone interviews" during
282-424: A long hard look at the currently political climate, and how exactly the media can play a positive role in that climate. Rhetoric in political journalism has been gaining popularity since the 60s, and has become more of an artform than anything since then. Many titans have leapt across the industry in various forms, whether it be Hunter S. Thompson 's " Gonzo journalism " style of following the political campaigns on
329-435: A lot of heat for certain stories or narratives they push which are built upon fallacies. People argue for participatory democracy, but politics now is largely considered a popularity contest and consists of politicians making decisions to ensure their reelection. Proponents of civic journalism believe that this philosophy will allow individuals to have a greater say in decision-making and in the broader political sphere. Given
376-427: A pro-Trump turn with donations to its affiliated nonprofit increasing from entities supported by wealthy conservatives. RCP executive editor Carl Cannon disputed the newspaper's allegations of a rightward turn, saying that he had solicited donations from both conservative and liberal donors, without them "buying coverage". Several journalists who talked to The New York Times in 2020 said they never felt any pressure from
423-456: A scapegoat for the issues with democracy. Including this, there are four key concepts that political journalism can be boiled down to. These concepts are the framing of politics as a strategic game, interpretive versus straight news, conflict framing and media negativity, and finally, political or partisan bias. In essence, these can be viewed as the four quintessential pillars of civic journalism. The goal of civic journalism, or public journalism,
470-550: A significant deviation from RCP's prediction. In the 2020 election, RealClearPolitics projected Joe Biden winning with 319 electoral votes. RCP expected Biden to capture key battleground states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which had flipped to Trump in 2016. RCP's final prediction closely aligned with the actual results, as Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. The primary deviations from their forecast were that RCP had predicted Biden losing Georgia and winning Florida, neither of which occurred. Biden also won
517-489: A two-man operation to a full-time staff of more than two dozen employees overseeing the company's mainstay, RealClearPolitics, as well as ten smaller sites. Both co-founders graduated from Princeton in 1991. When they launched the site, they would both start their day at 4 a.m., looking through articles from more than fifty sources. They post pieces on current events and topics, as well as news about opinion polls. The site reports on political races and projections, and features
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#1732855758999564-417: A variety of reasons. Overall, democracy is beginning to fail as there is a lack of civic engagement and even interference with democratic processes, such as Russia's involvement with the 2016 United States election, and even electronic voting (e-voting) machines that are being hacked and altering results. All in all, proponents of civic journalism believe that for democracy to regain its traction and glory in
611-443: Is ensuring that the information received by the public is all accurate and fact-checked. That is an important aspect that sometimes gives journalism, and certain news sources, a bad reputation, as previously mentioned. Accuracy in political news and journalism can enable voters to be more involved in the democratic process. Civic journalism itself is the process of integrating journalism into the democratic process and allowing voters and
658-575: Is known for its aggregation of polling data. The website was founded in 2000 by McIntyre, a former trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange , and Bevan, a former advertising agency account executive . McIntyre explained "it really wasn't any more complicated than there should be a place online that pulled together all this quality information." They call what they do "intelligent aggregation". The site has grown in election-season spurts since it first went online. It has expanded from
705-469: Is not hard to see how far we have come as political journalists from the early works of Thompson and Walters. Proponents of civic journalism are steadfast on certain issues. They believe that integrating journalism into the democratic process helps to inform voters and makes them more aware of what is occurring in the political sphere. Including this, it could make a difference in the democratic process if all voters were equally informed. An important aspect
752-656: Is provided through different mediums, in print, broadcast, or online reporting. Digital media use has increased and it provides instant coverage of campaigns, politics, event news, and an accessible platform for the candidate. Media outlets known for their political journalism like The New York Times and the Washington Post , have increased their use of this medium as well. Printed, online, and broadcast political humor presented as entertainment has been used to provide updates on aspects of government status, political news, campaign, and election updates. According to Geoffrey Baym,
799-439: Is subjective and leans towards one viewpoint. Brendan Nyhan and John M. Sides argue that "Journalists who report on politics are frequently unfamiliar with political science research or question its relevance to their work". Journalists covering politics who are unfamiliar with information that would provide context to their stories can enable the story to take a different spin on what is being reported. Political journalism
846-491: Is to allow the community to remain engaged with journalists and news outlets, restore democratic values, and rebuild the public's trust in journalists. The concept of fake news arose due to the fact that it is so easy to manipulate or twist information these days and create a certain narrative that might be entirely incorrect. This has led to an overall decrease in the credibility that people have for journalists and media sources. Certain media sources or news outlets often come under
893-815: The American Federation for Children , the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court for the National Catholic Register , and civic education for the Jack Miller Center. In 2024 Real Clear Politics awarded the Samizdat Prize for 1st Amendment Courage to Miranda Devine , Jay Bhattacharya and Matt Taibbi . Political journalism Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science , although
940-700: The George C. Marshall Institute , Project for the New American Century , the Institute for Humane Studies , Reason Foundation , and Judicial Watch . Prior to its 2014 merger, like the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation did not award grants to individuals. It concentrated its efforts towards causes focused on public policy at a national and international level. From 1985 to 2003
987-456: The 2020 presidential elections. Cannon responded by noting that RCP's polling average in the election was off by 1.47 points in favor of Democratic candidate Joe Biden across 7 battleground states, compared to 4.87 points in favor of Biden for polling conducted by The New York Times . In 2018, RealClear Media launched RealClear Opinion Research, a public opinion polling group. The group has conducted public opinion polls about school choice for
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#17328557589991034-653: The Allegheny Foundation. In 2015, the Allegheny Foundation distributed over $ 25 million to 81 different organizations. The foundation's largest donations went to Point Park University for the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Center for Media Innovation. The Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, Saint Vincent College, the Extra Mile Education Foundation, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and
1081-470: The Ligonier Valley YMCA all received gifts of $ 1 million or more. The Sarah Scaife Foundation does not award grants to individuals. It concentrates its efforts towards politically conservative causes focused on public policy at a national and international level. From 1985 to 2003 the organization awarded over $ 235 million to other organizations. The organizations it has supported include
1128-573: The RCP polling average was the best metric of the race. In 2008, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight said that RealClearPolitics was rigging its averages to favor Senator John McCain and other Republicans, although he later receded from this claim, indicating that his site and RCP had a friendly rivalry. McIntyre denied having a conservative bent, saying that the site was a business and had "no interest in screwing around with that for partisan purposes". In 2012, Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, said "They are
1175-499: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications, civic journalism is a polarizing philosophy and has a collection of opponents as well. Such opponents of civic journalism find it to be risky and ineffective. They also find the practice to bring about conflicts of interest and believe that it necessitates involvement in public affairs deemed to be unethical. John Bender, assistant professor of new editorial at
1222-439: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, claimed that journalists who are the most esteemed and high regarded play active roles in helping their community thrive. That practice would be an example of how civic journalism is indeed beneficial for the future of democracy as proponents believe. The University of Washington also delves into the world of political journalism with the article entitled "Where Media and Politics Meet". This takes
1269-412: The audience's ability to form their own opinion or beliefs of what has been reported. This type of reporting is subjective with a possible social or political purpose. Civic journalism has begun to develop a strong following again after first emerging as a philosophy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those who find civic journalism to be a new, progressive, and profound method for the media to engage with
1316-444: The average result of all current presidential polls and also offers a best-guess projection of Electoral College votes. RealClearPolitics, often referred to as nonpartisan by sources like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times , emerged as a significant platform during the 2008 elections . Its founders, aiming to provide ideological diversity, curated political stories, op-eds, news analyses, and editorials to offer readers
1363-526: The conservative Washington Examiner . Former employees include Caitlin Huey-Burns, Alexis Simendinger, James Arkin, Mike Memoli, Kyle Trygstad, Reid Wilson, and Rebecca (Berg) Buck. RealClearPolitics aggregates polls for presidential and congressional races into averages, known as the RealClearPolitics average, which are widely cited by media outlets. Both major presidential campaigns in 2004 said that
1410-433: The information provided may not be considered " fake news " but the lines between entertainment and factual news may seem blurred or biased while providing political updates. This type of journalism is analyzed, interpreted, and discussed by news media pundits and editorialists. It can lack objectivity which can prevent the accuracy of the presented information. The reporting of news with a bias viewpoint can also take away
1457-415: The main distributors of information, civic journalism pivots the role of publishers from distributing information to curating information. Given one of civic journalism's central tenets - making the press a forum for discussion of community issues - a publisher is able to seek out a niche in bolstering local engagement over spreading knowledge of worldly issues readily available via a web search. According to
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1504-646: The media to play a more active role rather than being witnesses and bystanders in what happens in the political sphere. Moreover, technology also plays an active role in educating voters and determining viewpoints. Sarah Scaife Foundation Richard Mellon Scaife endowed the foundation and served as its founding chairman. It "concentrates its giving in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area and confines most of its grant awards to programs for historic preservation, civic development and education." When Scaife died in 2014, he left assets worth $ 364 million to
1551-427: The modern world, the media must be more receptive to feedback from the public and take initiative to engage the public as well. According to Oxford Research Encyclopedias, the popularity of political journalism is rising, and the area is becoming one of the more dominant domains of journalism. Political journalism is meant to be more of an overseer of the democratic process as they relate to civic engagement rather than
1598-488: The once dying art to flourish again. In fact, the impact of political journalism can soon go beyond politics, as the need for political rhetoric in society has boomed the tech industry and created further opportunities in the sectors around that as well. Political journalism effects opportunities in the tech industry in different ways. For example, political journalism often reports on government initiatives pertaining to different incentives, laws, taxes, and data privacy rules. It
1645-701: The organization awarded over $ 68 million to other organizations. The Scaife Family Foundation has funded conservative causes. The Scaife Family Foundation has financially backed Reason magazine and the RealClearInvestigations website. It was among the largest contributors to the climate change denial movement from 2003 to 2010. The Scaife Family Foundation is controlled by Richard Mellon Scaife's daughter Jennie; who, according to 2014 article in Inside Philanthropy , shifted over time from funding conservative groups to becoming "almost exclusively
1692-420: The popular vote by more than 7 million votes, with his performance largely matching polling projections in most states. RealClearPolitics projected Donald Trump to win with 287 electoral votes, capturing most key battleground states, with the exception of Michigan and Winsconsin, which closely aligned with the actual results, though he ended up winning both aforemenetioned swing states. Forbes Media LLC bought
1739-467: The popular vote. However, Trump outperformed his polling in several key swing states—specifically, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, all states that RCP had Clinton winning. Trump outperformed his polls, leading to his victory in the Electoral College. Clinton won the popular vote by over 2.8 million votes, but Trump secured the presidency with 306 electoral votes compared to Clinton's 227, marking
1786-485: The president's political opponents, through a mix of its own content and articles from across conservative media...." and that for days after the election, "Real Clear Politics gave top billing to stories that reinforced the false narrative that the president could still somehow eke out a win." Cannon responded by highlighting two articles suggesting that "Trump could somehow eke out a win" on RCP's front page by noting that 374 articles had been covered on its front page between
1833-402: The public see it as an opportunity to revitalize democracy as we know it. As technological advances overtake the modern world, it is becoming less common for the general public to buy newspapers or watch TV news to inform themselves on the events in the political sphere. Including this, younger generations, such as, Generation Y (Millennials) and Generation Z, are not coming out to the polls due to
1880-475: The rise in yellow journalism and search optimization algorithms that create an echo chamber among mass media, civic journalism is entering a niche role where it can shift the position of news within public reception. As of recent, most news publishers undergo more and more observation as their ethics and content come under extensive scrutiny for political biases . In a time where traditional news outlets concern themselves with how to effectively monetize and are not
1927-434: The road, or Barbra Walters hard hitting interviews. Today, with the introduction of social media the news-cycle has become a cycle of attention grabbing pieces that run for no longer than 24-hours. However, political journalism is an absolutely vital part of the society we know and love, and although there has been a small downtick in the acknowledgement of it, people devoting their time and care to politics will surely allow for
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1974-438: The site's decision to publish the article. Cannon stated that whistleblower protections did not ensure anonymity from journalism, instead guaranteeing protection from firing, prosecution, and professional punishment. RealClearPolitics projected Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 U.S. presidential election with 272 electoral votes, narrowly beating Donald Trump. Their aggregation of national polls showed Clinton consistently leading in
2021-453: The site's founders to bias their stories. Cannon stated that RCP regularly publishes perspectives from both liberal and conservative publications, saying that "the simple fact is that the amount of liberal material published in RCP every week dwarfs the annual conservative content in The New York Times ". The New York Times also said that "Real Clear became one of the most prominent platforms for elevating unverified and reckless stories about
2068-519: The term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power . Political journalism aims to provide voters with the information to formulate their own opinion and participate in community, local or national matters that will affect them. According to Ed Morrissey in an opinion article from theweek.com, political journalism frequently includes opinion journalism, as current political events can be biased in their reporting. The information provided includes facts, its perspective
2115-484: The time of the election and The New York Times ' article, including 16 articles from The New York Times itself. In 2016, RealClearInvestigations was launched, backed by foundations associated with conservative causes, such as the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation and Sarah Scaife Foundation . In 2019, the site published an article by a conservative author, Paul Sperry , containing the supposed name of
2162-946: The years. In early interviews and articles, founders McIntyre and Bevan openly discussed their criticism of mainstream media biases. A 2001 Princeton Alumni Weekly article highlighted their political leanings, and a 2004 Time article described the site's commentary section as "right-leaning." By 2009, some academic texts have described it as run by conservatives while providing a range of opinion pieces. This blend of nonpartisanship and conservative tendencies has shaped its reputation and influence in political discourse. Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other In November 2020, The New York Times published an article alleging that since 2017, when many of its "straight-news" reporting journalists were laid off, RealClearPolitics showed
2209-440: Was launched to cover military, intelligence, and veterans' issues. In addition to linking to external content, RealClearPolitics also provides original commentary and reporting, with a staff that includes White House reporter Philip Wegmann, White House and national political correspondent Susan Crabtree , associate editor and columnist A.B. Stoddard, and columnist J. Peder Zane . Both Wegmann and Crabtree are former reporters for
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