Media Research Center

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.

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

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

• Media bias research
• Conservative media watchdog
• Big Tech censorship tracking
• Media analysis studies
• Nonprofit advocacy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Reston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core 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

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct 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

• Xx.com/theMRC
• Facebookfacebook.com/mediaresearchcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/media-research-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Media Research Center