Media Research Center
Media Research Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative media watchdog founded in 1987 that documents liberal media bias and Big Tech censorship through nine operating divisions including NewsBusters, MRC Free Speech America, MRCTV, and CNSNews, serving conservative audiences, politicians, and regulators via donor-funded research.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersReston, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Media Research Center does
Media Research Center (MRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative media watchdog organization founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III and headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It systematically documents and publicizes perceived liberal bias in mainstream media outlets, entertainment programming, and digital platforms through a network of nine operating divisions: NewsBusters (daily media-bias blog and podcast), MRC Video/MRCTV (web series and video podcasts), MRC Free Speech America (Big Tech censorship tracking via the CensorTrack project), CNSNews (original news reporting), MRC Business, MRC Culture, MRC Latino, MRC Action, and Notable Quotables. Its research output includes empirical studies such as a 3,639-joke analysis of CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (finding 87% of jokes targeted conservatives) and a 620-story audit of Apple News morning placements (finding 440 from left-leaning outlets and zero from right-leaning ones).
MRC's core technology is not publicly disclosed; its research operations rely on human analyst content coding rather than disclosed AI/ML pipelines. Content distribution is delivered through owned digital properties (mrc.org, newsbusters.org, mrctv.org, mrcfreespeechamerica.org, cnsnews.com), the daily Watchdog email newsletter authored by President David Bozell, and earned media amplification across Fox News, Newsmax, talk radio, Breitbart, and The Daily Wire. The organization also runs a 12-week paid internship program that has trained over 480 alumni since 1992.
MRC is funded entirely through charitable contributions with no enterprise customers or product revenue. Its donor programs include the Patriot Fund recurring monthly giving ($50/$100/$250 per month), the tiered President's Club ($1,000/year), President's Council ($5,000/year), and President's Cabinet ($10,000/year) membership tiers, plus Legacy Society planned gifts and bequests. In 2025, founder L. Brent Bozell III transitioned to President Emeritus and David Bozell succeeded him as President; that same year the organization secured consequential regulatory outcomes, including Congress's defunding of NPR and PBS, an FCC filing challenging ABC's The View's 'bona fide news' designation, and an FTC Chairman letter to Apple citing MRC research.
Media Research Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Media Research Center
- Legal name
- Media Research Center
- Website
- https://mrc.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Media Research Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative media watchdog founded in 1987 that documents liberal media bias and Big Tech censorship through nine operating divisions including NewsBusters, MRC Free Speech America, MRCTV, and CNSNews, serving conservative audiences, politicians, and regulators via donor-funded research.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Media Research Center industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conservative Media Watchdog Services
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK), Audience Measurement & Media Research (Ratings, Attribution, Media Mix Insights) (MPAAALAM)
Keywords
Where Media Research Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Media Research Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: MRC operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization relying primarily on charitable donations from individual supporters. Donors include those who give outright cash gifts, multi-year planned gifts, and recurring monthly contributions through the Patriot Fund. The organization also receives legacy society bequests and endowed gifts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | President's Club — $1,000/year |
| Subscription | Annual | President's Council — $5,000/year |
| Subscription | Annual | President's Cabinet — $10,000/year |
| Subscription | Monthly | Patriot Fund — Monthly Giving |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Media Research Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Media Research Center operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media watchdog that conducts systematic research and produces original content documenting liberal bias in mainstream television, digital, and entertainment media, and tracking Big Tech censorship against conservative voices. Its core deliverables include daily blog posts (NewsBusters), original video programming (MRC Video/MRCTV), original news reporting (CNSNews), a daily email newsletter (The Watchdog), formal bias studies, and regulatory filings that quantify media slant through empirical analysis of jokes, guest ratios, and story placements.
Product overview
The Media Research Center operates a multi-platform media monitoring and conservative advocacy organization consisting of several distinct products and divisions. The core offerings include NewsBusters (daily media bias watchdog blog and podcast), MRC Video (viral video content and web series), and MRC Free Speech America (Big Tech censorship tracking via CensorTrack). Supporting divisions encompass CNSNews (news website), The Watchdog newsletter (David Bozell's email analysis), and specialized verticals for Culture, Business, Latino, and Action. Content distribution includes RSS feeds for personal use. The organization also runs an internship program for conservative journalism training. These products collectively serve the MRC's mission of exposing liberal media bias and fighting Big Tech censorship.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- NewsBusters Daily media bias watchdog blog and podcast (published Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) that monitors and documents liberal bias in mainstream news outlets through real-time analysis, blog posts, clips, and commentary. Targets conservative American news consumers seeking accountability coverage of mainstream media.
- MRC Video (MRCTV)
Quantifiable outcome
- 87% of jokes targeted conservatives on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in MRC's study of 3,639 jokes.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Media Research Center
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Media Research Center technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Media Research Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Media Research Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Federalist: The Federalist is a conservative online news and opinion publication that produces original journalism and commentary from a right-leaning perspective. It overlaps with MRC's CNSNews and NewsBusters in audience and editorial stance, though it operates as a for-profit media company rather than a nonprofit.
- Breitbart News: Breitbart News is a conservative news and opinion outlet that covers media bias and cultural issues from a right-leaning perspective. It competes with MRC's news divisions for the same audience attention and donor cultivation.
- PragerU: PragerU is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit producing conservative media content, short educational videos, and commentary. It shares MRC's nonprofit funding model, conservative ideological positioning, donor-funded GTM, and multi-platform distribution strategy.
- Accuracy in Media: Accuracy in Media is a conservative media watchdog nonprofit that monitors and critiques mainstream media bias. It is the closest historical peer to MRC in mission and structure, both being donor-funded 501(c)(3)s focused on documenting liberal media bias.
- The Daily Wire: The Daily Wire is a conservative media company producing news, podcasts, and video content. It targets the same conservative audience as MRC's MRCTV division and competes for the same donor and viewer attention within the conservative media ecosystem.
- FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting): FAIR is a progressive media watchdog nonprofit that monitors and critiques conservative media bias. It is the ideological mirror of MRC, operating with the same nonprofit watchdog model, empirical study methodology, and advocacy posture on the opposite end of the political spectrum.
- Newsmax: Newsmax is a conservative cable and digital news outlet that regularly cites and amplifies MRC's research. It serves the same conservative audience segment and is documented in MRC's own data as a frequent media amplification partner.
- The Epoch Times: The Epoch Times is a conservative international news organization that has scaled rapidly using alternative funding models and aligned ideological positioning. It represents a peer in the conservative media space with overlapping audience and content categories.
- Townhall Media: Townhall Media is a conservative news and opinion network publishing across Townhall.com, RedState, HotAir, and other verticals. It shares MRC's audience and editorial stance and is identified in MRC's data as a destination for alumni from MRC's internship program.
Broad incumbents
- The Heritage Foundation: Heritage Foundation is a large conservative think tank producing policy research and advocacy. It operates as a broader institutional incumbent in the conservative ecosystem with overlapping audiences, donor bases, and policy influence; multiple MRC employees previously interned or worked at Heritage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks2 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Media Research Center social profiles
Digital presenceMedia Research Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Media Research Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles25 records
Media Research Center subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries9 records
Media Research Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Media Research Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Media Research Center
What does Media Research Center do?
Media Research Center operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media watchdog that conducts systematic research and produces original content documenting liberal bias in mainstream television, digital, and entertainment media, and tracking Big Tech censorship against conservative voices. Its core deliverables include daily blog posts (NewsBusters), original video programming (MRC Video/MRCTV), original news reporting (CNSNews), a daily email newsletter (The Watchdog), formal bias studies, and regulatory filings that quantify media slant through empirical analysis of jokes, guest ratios, and story placements.
Is Media Research Center a public or private company?
Media Research Center is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Media Research Center founded?
Media Research Center was founded in 1987. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Media Research Center based?
Media Research Center is headquartered in Reston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Media Research Center make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Charitable Contributions.
Who are Media Research Center's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Federalist, Breitbart News, PragerU, Accuracy in Media, The Daily Wire, FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting), Newsmax, The Epoch Times and Townhall Media. The Heritage Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Media Research Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for Media Research Center.
What industry is Media Research Center in?
Media Research Center's product category is Conservative Media Watchdog Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of MPAJADAH, Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.