TV news cares less about global warming than ever before.
Despite all the hype around the United Nations conference in Paris last December, TV news airtime devoted to global warming by major news networks fell by 5 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to research published Monday by liberal outlet Media Matters.
The research found that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox collectively aired approximately 146 minutes of global warming coverage on their evening and Sunday news shows in 2015, which was eight minutes less than the networks aired in 2014.
The network with the most significant decline in coverage was ABC, which devoted a mere 13 minutes to discussing global warming in 2015. This is a 59 percent decline from 2014 and far less coverage than any other network provided in 2015. Global warming coverage from CBS dropped from 56 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, the only channel which substantially increased coverage of global warming was Fox, which is mostly skeptical of the issue.
The majority of global warming coverage that did occur was about the Paris conference, the Pope’s actions or the Keystone XL oil pipeline — all of which will likely not be significant issues going forward. Even the potential investigation of Exxon for its skeptical stance on global warming couldn’t make headlines.
Of particular concern to Media Matters are arguments that global warming is causing terrorism haven’t been picked up by mainstream TV networks or other media outlets. Even Vermont Sen. and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders blaming the rise of ISIS on global warming failed to generate coverage and was even labelled “mostly false” by the liberal fact-checking site PolitiFact.
Other progressive and green outlets, such as Climate Home, are openly worrying that other issues have “knocked global warming off the front pages”or that “[c]limate change has dropped off the political radar.” The effect isn’t limited to media either. Yale University’s Climate and Energy Institute is shutting down. Even the internet isn’t a safe-haven for alarmists, with websites such as RealClimate.org starting to go offline.
