The Climate Progress subdivision of Think Progress reported the other day that evening news broadcasts of the three major TV networks devoted a total of 32 minutes--14 separate stories--to climate change in the year 2011. This morning, I figure NPR gave me close to 32 minutes on yesterday's movements of the Republican presidential candidates in and around South Carolina. Not anything about what the candidates "believe", mind you--something that might help a South Carolina voter decide what to do about the situation--but about "how they're doing": even sound bites from the candidates themselves only discussed their views on the horse race.*
Then again, anybody who's been paying a modicum (or a small emoticon) of attention knows as much as she or he can stand about the candidates' views already, and I imagine that that applies to the journalists as well, not to mention that they're typically not very interested in economic policy and such. And likewise, I guess, for climate change--if what's happening to the Arctic sea ice is news to you, you're pretty far behind.
Maybe news itself is a problem--maybe we really need more opinion, just the way they feel on Fox News. Not so much what I'm doing, which is merely stammering--teaching myself the news about what I'm thinking, and sharing it with a presumably similarly half-assed audience--but mobilizing? Just a thought.
*Think Progress itself didn't bother to promote the 32-minutes story to its main site, for that matter--I got it from Steven D at Daily Kos.
Then again, anybody who's been paying a modicum (or a small emoticon) of attention knows as much as she or he can stand about the candidates' views already, and I imagine that that applies to the journalists as well, not to mention that they're typically not very interested in economic policy and such. And likewise, I guess, for climate change--if what's happening to the Arctic sea ice is news to you, you're pretty far behind.
Maybe news itself is a problem--maybe we really need more opinion, just the way they feel on Fox News. Not so much what I'm doing, which is merely stammering--teaching myself the news about what I'm thinking, and sharing it with a presumably similarly half-assed audience--but mobilizing? Just a thought.
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| Made the news when it was cold in Florida... |
*Think Progress itself didn't bother to promote the 32-minutes story to its main site, for that matter--I got it from Steven D at Daily Kos.
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