Thursday, August 30, 2007

Climate Change: Get Over Objectivity, Newspapers

That's a column head at Editor & Publisher. I figured since this was turning into media day at Climateer Investing (now published with re-cycled electrons!), I'd show you this, from Steve Outing:

The industry still has a lot of power to influence people. How about if newspapers abandon their old way of doing things when it comes to the issue of global warming, and turn their influence to good?

I've been thinking a lot about climate change (aka, global warming) a lot lately. (Haven't you?) Having kids, I'm concerned about what kind of world my generation is leaving them, of course. And I'm mulling over what I can do, to "do my part" (ride my bike to work more; my family bought a hybrid car; teach my kids green habits; etc.).

I've also been thinking about the newspaper industry and global warming. And frankly, I don't think newspapers are doing enough. Indeed, newspapers' fabled commitment to "objectivity" has been a detriment to efforts to combat global warming.

The industry still has a lot of power to influence people. How about if newspapers abandon their old way of doing things when it comes to the issue of global warming, and turn their influence to good? It just might be that through this issue alone, newspapers revive themselves to some extent. Editors are shirking their responsibility to improve our world, in my view, so let's change that....
MORE at E & P

I'll check with the CJR on advocacy journalism. While I'm away your assignment is to research which of these ancien names goes tits-up first:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

San Francisco Chronicle