Once again, broadcast news has failed to keep the public informed on climate change, according to Media Matters for America’s annual TV News report, released yesterday.
There’s good news and bad news in the report, Rebecca Leber at Mother Jones writes. In 2017, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and Fox did cover climate more in 2017 than they did 2016. Unfortunately, this coverage was mainly related to Trump (79% of total coverage) and largely focused on his intention to pull out of the Paris agreement. (PBS stood out as a leader in climate coverage, but unfortunately Trump's budget proposes eliminating PBS funding.)
There was hardly any coverage of the Clean Power Plan repeal, no mention of Keystone and Dakota Access pipeline’s climate impacts, no scientists on the agenda-setting Sunday morning shows, no connection made between climate change and California’s wildfires and only two segments on climate change’s influence on the three major hurricanes.
Maybe if movie stars talk about climate change, TV news will follow their lead? Both Robert De Niro and Arnold Schwarzenegger have sounded off on climate lately. At an event in the Middle East on Sunday, De Niro referenced Pruitt’s comments about warming being a good thing to say that the US is suffering from “temporary insanity” Last week while speaking in California, Schwarzenegger called for Pruitt to be “removed immediately” from his position as EPA administrator.
We almost never advise anyone to read Breitbart’s comments, but this might be a rare exception to see people who love former reality TV star and political outsider President Trump assail De Niro and Arnold for being actors who dare talk about politics.
The irony would be palpable, if Breitbart’s audience were smart enough to understand irony.
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