MediaWatch: May 4, 1998
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: May 4, 1998
- Only Conservatives Qualify as "Haters"
- NewsBites
- Scientists Don't Scare Viewers
- We Knew Reagan Was Phony
- Fox on China
Scientists Don't Scare Viewers
Networks Ignore 15,000 Scientists Opposed to Kyoto Treaty
National news reports on global warming often underline that
dire warming scenarios are endorsed by the "overwhelming
majority" of scientists. Imagine the journalistic inconvenience on April
20, when the Science and Environmental Policy Project released
a petition from 15,000 scientists around the world declaring
there was no convincing evidence linking greenhouse gases to
"catastrophic heating." The networks did what they thought was
the only responsible thing. They ignored it. Two nights later,
after one scientist claimed the Earth is warmer than ever, CBS,
CNN, and NBC all presented full evening news stories without
any opposing views.
On the CBS Evening News, reporter
John Roberts explained Michael Mann of the University of
Massachusetts thinks 1995-97 are the warmest years since 1400.
Roberts ended: "It will take years of research to determine
exactly what's behind this trend and what if any dangers it
might pose, but one thing is certain, the heat is on. Global
temperatures for the first three months of 1998 were the warmest on
record."
CNN anchor Martin Savidge contended on The World Today:
"Don't believe in global warming? Well, this next story could
change your mind." Reporter Ann Kellan's one-sided story
concluded: "The scientists say if carbon dioxide levels keep
rising at the current rate, the warming trend could get even
stronger. They warn that global warming could cause problems
ranging from drought to flooding caused by polar ice melting."
NBC's Tom Brokaw asked: "Does it seem like the world is getting warmer?
More hard evidence it's not just your imagination. In Depth
tonight." Robert Bazell added: "A Department of Energy report
out today says greenhouse gas emissions will rise by as much as
80 percent in the next 20 years. So there seems to be little
question but that the Earth will continue to get warmer,
probably a lot warmer."
The 15,000 skeptical scientists,
including Frederick Seitz, a past President of the National
Academy of Sciences, issued a statement urging rejection of the
Kyoto treaty: "The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would
harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and
technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind." Seitz
asserted: "This freely expressed vote against the warming scare
propaganda should be contrasted with the claimed 'consensus of 2500
climate scientists' about global warming. This facile and
oft-quoted assertion by the White House is a complete
fabrication." But TV viewers wouldn't know.
