by Dana Nucittelli, via Skeptical Science
We have previously criticized the mainstream media for favoring false balance over factually accurate scientific reporting when it comes to climate change. In one of the worst examples of this unfortunate and counter-productive practice, the US Public Boadcasting Service (PBS), which is funded by both taxpayers and private donations, (for example, from the Koch brothers) aired a climate story on the PBS News Hour which began by featuring the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) project’s Richard Muller, “balanced” with a subsequent interview of contrarian blogger Anthony Watts.
Ultimately, Watts’ comments suffered from a double standard, dismissing Muller’s comments as not yet being supported by peer-reviewed research, but offering his own opinions despite the fact that they were not only unsupported, but even contradicted by Watts’ own peer-reviewed research.
Update
From Brad Johnson: Over 10,000 people have signed the Forecast the Facts petition asking the PBS ombudsman to investigate the segment and recommend corrective action. You can add your name here.
Surface Temperature Record Accuracy
When asked to describe his ‘skepticism’ about human-caused global warming, Watts went into a long discussion about his concerns that encroachment ...
Link to original article / Continue Reading...
Climate Progress is a blog dedicated to providing the progressive perspective on climate science, climate solutions, and climate politics.
Comments…