Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
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S<br />
62 politics and governance<br />
Ecosystem Assessment Report, <strong>the</strong> largest study ever done on <strong>the</strong><br />
health <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> planet, appeared in <strong>the</strong> spring <strong>of</strong> 2005, for example,<br />
none <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> major news channels reported <strong>the</strong> s<strong>to</strong>ry, and it did not<br />
make <strong>the</strong> front page <strong>of</strong> our national newspapers like <strong>the</strong> New York<br />
Times. Instead, <strong>the</strong> highly politicized s<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>of</strong> a brain-dead woman<br />
(Terri Schiavo) was <strong>the</strong> lead s<strong>to</strong>ry on <strong>the</strong> evening news and dominated<br />
most newspaper front pages as well as radio and television<br />
talk shows. The fact that <strong>the</strong> natural systems on which we depend<br />
were dying did not matter <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> people who defi ne <strong>the</strong> “news,”<br />
but short-term market share did matter, and that called for sensationalism<br />
and <strong>the</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r cultivation <strong>of</strong> public cupidity.<br />
There is no single solution <strong>to</strong> what is a complex problem, but<br />
obvious reforms would go a long way <strong>to</strong>ward res<strong>to</strong>ring <strong>the</strong> free<br />
fl ow <strong>of</strong> information. The fi rst would require returning <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> idea<br />
written in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> Communications Act <strong>of</strong> 1934, which granted<br />
broadcasters use <strong>of</strong> public airwaves on <strong>the</strong> condition that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
would serve <strong>the</strong> public interest (Hill, 2006, p. 121). But in recent<br />
years, public programming and political coverage on <strong>the</strong> major<br />
networks have plummeted along with <strong>the</strong> quantity, quality, and<br />
integrity <strong>of</strong> news reporting. The problem is simply that “<strong>the</strong> press<br />
has grown <strong>to</strong>o close <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> sources <strong>of</strong> power in this nation, making<br />
it largely <strong>the</strong> communication mechanism <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> government,<br />
not <strong>the</strong> people” (Bennett, Lawrence, and Livings<strong>to</strong>n, 2007, p.1).<br />
A second change would be <strong>to</strong> again enforce <strong>the</strong> 1947 rule by <strong>the</strong><br />
Federal Communications Commission that required fair and balanced<br />
coverage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> news in order <strong>to</strong> hold and retain a license<br />
<strong>to</strong> use <strong>the</strong> public airwaves. Since 1987 that rule has been largely<br />
ignored by <strong>the</strong> appointees <strong>to</strong> a highly politicized FCC (Thomas,<br />
2006, pp. 124–134). As a consequence, according <strong>to</strong> a report from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Center for American Progress, over 90 percent <strong>of</strong> talk radio<br />
across <strong>the</strong> United States, for example, is “conservative,” much <strong>of</strong> it<br />
unencumbered by fact and seldom challenged in open debate. The<br />
public airwaves, in effect, have been co-opted not <strong>to</strong> inform <strong>the</strong><br />
citizenry but <strong>to</strong> wage a “culture war” and <strong>to</strong> demonize opponents.