Some of the commentary about how the media covered last week’s big climate sensitivity study in Science prompted me to explore underlying issues that have already been identified by people much smarter than me. Have a read over at the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media.
This CJR story by Dean Starkman is being widely disseminated and discussed in journalism circles. Here’s what it’s about: No one reading this magazine needs to be told that we have crossed over into a new era. Industrial-age journalism has failed, we are told, and even if it hasn’t failed, it is over. Newspaper company stocks…Continue Reading…
He parks in handicapped spaces. He screams at subordinates. He cries like a small child when he does not get his way. He gets stopped for driving a hundred miles an hour, honks angrily at the officer for taking too long to write up the ticket, and then resumes his journey at a hundred miles…Continue Reading…
So it’s not surprising that lots of people got peeved with the way the BEST story played out in the media. People who feel strongly about climate issues are invariably disappointed with climate media coverage. Hence the perpetual effort to shape the climate narrative. It was perceived by some that Muller overplayed the BEST results…Continue Reading…
Last week, the New York Times put out a special section on energy that didn’t pass muster with Joe Romm. He declared: I think it is safe to cancel your subscriptions to the one-time paper of record. While there are 1 or 2 reporters at the New York Times who get climate and energy, it’s obvious that most…Continue Reading…
Many climate skeptics perturbed about the BEST results are complaining that the media has gleefully hyped the story. There is certainly evidence of widespread coverage in newspapers and the blogosphere. But the story has been virtually ignored by cable TV and mainstream broadcast outlets. Last night, Jon Stewart had some fun comparing that dearth with…Continue Reading…
This story in yesterday’s NYT, titled “What happened to global warming?” has stirred some discussion over why a sizable bloc of Americans aren’t taking climate change seriously. Brad Plumer in the Washington Post says it’s a “great piece,” while Joe Romm grits his teeth at what he considers a big omission. I offer my take…Continue Reading…
In recent years, some influential writers have been making noises about the staleness of the green movement. At the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I take stock of an emergent narrative that challenges foundational environmentalist precepts. Will it take hold? Let me know what you think over there.
If Ken Burns lives long enough, he should be able to do a documentary on what life was like before cable TV and the Internet. Meanwhile, here’s what he thinks: Burns says the proliferation of cheap production and distribution technologies for creative expression is a cause for optimisim but worries about audience fragmentation. “When I…Continue Reading…
At the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media, I survey the landscape beyond mind-deadening gloom and doom.