Media

The news media uncritically use the Heritage Foundation as a source on education, even though the conservative think tank has no relevant education expertise, a recent report contends.

The report by the Educational Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University is the lab's second critique of work by oft-quoted conservative think tanks. Last fall, the Phoenix-based center issued a report criticizing what it said were biases in education studies published by the Michigan-based Mackinac Center. ( "Research: Researching the Researchers," Feb. 20, 2002.)

Quoting Heritage sources misleads the public and gives credibility to the Washington-based organization as a serious voice on education issues, said Alex Molnar, an author of the report, "Media Impact of Think Tank Education Publications 2001," and the...