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Inconspicuous Manipulators. Attempts to influence politics are as common as the efforts to hide them. Well known instruments in the context of manipulating public policy are direct campaign contributions to political candidates and parties as well as the pursuits of the ubiquitous lobbyists. By contrast, the activities of think tanks pass almost unnoticed by the public.
Strategic Diffusion. The main aim of think tanks is to spread their respective ideology. For this purpose they have developed a very sophisticated set of dissemination tools ranging from educational programs to web sites, research reports and briefings.
Media as Collaborators. Think tanks flood the media with
hundreds of opinion editorials, arrange press conferences and hold forums
for journalists and policy makers. And they are successful in getting their
message across. In 1997 U.S. think tanks have been cited by national media
14,623 times.
Yet as the diffusion of ideas is a crucial element of their strategy, think
tanks try to avoid dependence on mainstream media. This is why many of them
maintain media outlets and projects of their own. For example, the Free Congress
Foundations runs a TV station called National Empowerment Television.
Disguised Aims. Think tanks undertake "research" activities on a broad range of public policy issues. Whether they advocate or oppose certain ideas depends on their ideological orientation.
"Real research is systematic, blind reviewed, and employs a replicable methodology; these think tank 'studies' are none of these. In contrast with research, think tank reports are produced to shift public policy and public opinion ..." (Lawrence Soley, Professor of Communications at Marquette University)
Nonetheless representatives of think tanks are regularly quoted as neutral experts. Media frequently fail to identify the ideological label attached to them.
Money Rivers. Think tanks, especially conservative ones, are usually well endowed with financial resources. In 1998 alone the five most influential U.S. think tanks, the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute and the RAND Corporation had a budget of US$ 187.800,000,000 at their disposition.
Return on Investment. Although money also comes from governments and foundations, individual and corporate donors are often the chief sponsors who insist that the research they commission is not guided by interests.