Wednesday, January 9, 2013

On the networks, look who's talking about climate change

Have I ever mentioned that I  never watch the Sunday morning talk shows?  Oh, I do get a glimpse of one or the other when I happen to pass by a TV set  while  these elitest panels are fussing over the latest crises.  Although Henry Luce is not one of my inspired journalistic heros, I do agree with his view that objectivity is a  "false god."

Talk about objectivity,  a study by  Media Matters reported a remarkable imbalance in discussions of climate change on the network Sunday shows in which Democrats were shut out of any comments.
"In  2012," Media Matters reports, "the Sunday shows did not  quote a single Democratic politician on climate change.  Most of the politicians quoted were Republican presidential candidates, including Rick Santorum, who went unchallenged when he called global warming 'junk science' on ABC's This Week.    More than half of the climate mentions on the Sunday shows were Republicans criticizing those who support efforts to address  climate change."
Among the pundits who have dismissed climate change is George Will.  Of course, he was also one of the gifted thinkers who predicted a landslide victory for Mitt Romney.  And for Republicans, the dark clouds have been gathering ever since Election Day.

NOTE:  My column on the upheaval at the Plain Dealer and newspaper passivity toward key issues has been posted on Plunderbund. 

No comments: