Columbia Journalism Review: Paris ‘Opportunity’ for Media to Show Commitment to Climate Change

December 3rd, 2015 2:46 PM

One-sided and overwhelmingly biased coverage of climate change wasn’t enough for the news industry publication Columbia Journalism Review.

On Dec. 1, CJR contributing editor Cristine Russell actually claimed “climate change has often languished in news coverage ...”

What newspapers is she reading? What news programming does she watch? Because from ABC’s former weatherman Sam Champion, to CBS anchor Scott Pelley, to NBC where “Green is Universal” along with a host of newspapers and cable channels, the liberal news media have been warning of global warming and the need to abandon fossil fuels for decades.

Russell’s unwillingness to admit the media is already biased on the subject the opposite way she claims is egregious. But even worse, was her argument that the Paris climate summit “offered an opportunity for media outlets to show greater commitment in terms of visibility and resources ...”

Since when are journalists supposed to “show greater commitment” to any issue? Their commitment is supposed to be to truth, objectivity, independence and an open exchange of viewpoints, according to the Society of Professional Journalists.

Of course, the news media have failed to support an open exchange of views on climate change for many years. With a well-known journalism trade publication arguing for advocacy on the issue rather than objective treatment of climate change, it becomes obvious why.