MediaWatch: October 1989
Table of Contents:
Conceding the Obvious
Wall Street Journal editor writer David Brooks culled some juicy admissions of media bias on environmental issues at a September 16 global warming conference at the Smithsonian Institution. In an October 5 Journal column, Brooks quoted Charles Alexander: "As the science editor at Time I would freely admit that on this issue we have crossed the boundary from news reporting to advocacy." The audience applauded. Of course, anyone who reads Time, with its "Planet of the Year" agenda and "Endangered Earth" bulletins, hardly needed the announcement.
NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Andrea Mitchell told the audience that "clearly the networks have made that decision now, where you'd have to call it advocacy." Mitchell could be referring to segments of ABC's "American Agenda" or NBC's own recent "Assignment Earth" series.
