Jeff Cohen founded FAIR in 1986. He served as the group's executive director for a number of years, and later on its board of directors. Upon taking a full time job with MSNBC in May 2002, Cohen stepped down from FAIR's board.
At MSNBC, Cohen was a senior producer on "Donahue" and an on-air commentator. Over the years, he has been a frequent guest on national TV and radio, including Today, Larry King Live, Donahue, C-SPAN and NPR. Formerly, he was a regular panelist on Fox News Channel's News Watch. He has served as the co-host of CNN's Crossfire.
He has been quoted on issues of media and politics in such publications as the New York Times, Washington Post and TV Guide, and his columns have appeared in such dailies as USA Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and Miami Herald. For four years, he co-wrote the weekly, nationally syndicated "Media Beat" column with Norman Solomon for Creators Syndicate.
Cohen is the co-author of four books -- Wizards of Media Oz: Behind the Curtain of Mainstream News (1997); Through the Media Looking Glass: Decoding Bias and Blather in the News (1995); The Way Things Aren't: Rush Limbaugh's Reign of Error (1995); and Adventures in Medialand: Behind the News, Beyond the Pundits (1993).
Prior to launching FAIR in 1986, Cohen worked in Los Angeles as a journalist, and as a lawyer for the ACLU. His investigative articles ran in Rolling Stone, New Times, Mother Jones and other publications. He was a boardmember of several public interest groups, including the ACLU of Southern California and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/L.A.
Cohen did undergraduate work at the University of Michigan and did his legal studies at the Peoples College of Law in Los Angeles. He became a member of the California Bar in 1981.
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