Global Warming Censored
Networks Stifle Debate, Rely on Politicians, Rock Stars
and Men-on-the-Street for Science

 

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Exec. Summary | Full Report | PDF Version

                           The Champion of Climate Change

By Genevieve Ebel, Researcher

     Who knew that even the weather report could have an agenda?

     Once weathermen stuck to short-term forecasting. “Good Morning America’s” Sam Champion hasn’t just talked about the weather, he’s tried to do something about it. In numerous broadcasts, the morning weatherman proposed unique solutions to the “climate crisis.”

     Champion covered more than the “extreme weather” on Nov. 19, 2007, keeping viewers updated on climate change current events, too. “Over the weekend, the U.N.’s panel on climate change, the largest group of climate scientists ever assembled, called global warming ‘unequivocal,’” warned Champion.

     With onscreen graphics and interviews, Champion consistently stoked global warming fears, with 18.5 percent of ABC’s climate change stories in the study window coming from Champion.

     As a graphic blared “Could Towns Be Underwater?” Champion served up the forecast Sept. 24, 2007, with a heavy side of global warming hype – supporting predictions of an “ice-free Arctic” by 2100. Champion tossed the segment to fellow ABC reporter and global warming advocate Bill Blakemore, who gloomily predicted that the world could see “cities like Boston underwater for good” by the second half of this century. He brought in back-up for his predictions, although rarely from other meteorologists.

     But he didn’t stop there. Champion’s regular “Just One Thing” segments featured all sorts of environmental activism. Champion turned to numerous global warming advocates. Story after story gave a platform to just one side – the author of a global warming handbook, a swimmer diving into Arctic waters to spread a climate change message, a man using no electricity for a year, zookeeper Jack Hanna and an environmentalist who offered advice on how to have an “eco-friendly” yard, just to name a few.

     A Sept. 21, 2007, segment featured “No Impact Man,” Colin Beavan – who pledged to “buy nothing new, not even toilet paper” for a year in an effort to live “impact-free on the environment.” Instead of a car, the family rode a modified tricycle – which Champion called “hittin’ the road, green-style.”

     Then there was his “Just One Thing” segment on Aug. 10, 2007, that featured the author of the “Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook,” David de Rothschild. Champion embraced de Rothschild’s suggestion of giving up plastic and Styrofoam “to-go” containers and replacing them with biodegradable products made of corn and sugar cane. That would mean always cleaning your plate, or choosing restaurants that have shunned regular takeout packaging.
 

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