From CRC Archives: Our Profile of the Massive Waste of Money Known as the Annenberg Challenge

We were covering the massive waste of money known as the Annenberg Challenge long before anyone had heard of its Chicago chairman, Barack Obama, or its Chicago co-founder, real life terrorist-turned-educational terrorist William Ayers.

Our article, “Lining the Pockets of Bureaucrats: Annenberg’s Misguided Effort to Save America’s Schools,” by Patrick Reilly, appeared in the March 1998 issue of Foundation Watch. The plain text of the article, extracted from the cobweb-covered archives in the catacombs of the Capital Research Center, is available here.

Reilly concludes:

Further review of the Challenge’s major-city projects and available indicators of student performance clearly indicates that Walter Annenberg’s $500 million gift has failed to have any significant impact on the quality of public schools.

While philanthropists including Annenberg and Ted Turner sink their fortunes into failing government bureacracies, other donors and foundations should consider private and nonprofit alternatives that embrace the efficiency and effectiveness of the free market.