The Disappearance Of Research Journalism

 It’s time we addressed malfunction, misinformation and a distinct lack of research and corrections in some sectors of our mainstream media – in particular,  printed and online newspaper publications.  I’m looking at you, Fairfax Media and the ABC online.

When one sings from a particular hymn sheet, one produces biased, blinkered tosh such as this from the ABC’s Science & Environment Reporter, Sarah Clarke:

I seem to recall Sydney Radio broadcaster, Alan Jones, was recently marched off to Re-education Camp because of some slight error he made with regard to actual global temperatures – as they were when his broadcast went to air.  I wonder if the ABC’s Sarah Clarke and Fairfax reporters, Ben Cubby and Tom Arup should also be systematically marched off to Re-education Camp because of their one-eyed reporting of climate related stories.  Research?  Where has it gone?   Clarke, Cubby and Arup and a heap of other so-called journalists would rather not open any doors that may challenge their CAGW religion, apparently.  Result:  Readers get bias, not the full story. 

Journalism by Press Release is commonplace nowadays.  No critical analysis, no research.   Are journalists too stressed or pressured to do a bit of old fashioned foot-slogging?   Can’t be too hard with the Internet, surely.  Perhaps they are too concerned about their tenure to go rocking boats.  Maybe that old saying “keep them in the dark an feed them bullshit” is applicable to today’s journalistic attitude to their readers.  What they (the readers) don’t know won’t kill them besides I’m too busy and too stressed to give a balanced perspective.  Is that the new norm we, the readers, are expected to accept?  It’s no wonder newspapers are dying and no wonder so many of us are gravitating to Blogs.  That’s where you find investigation and research being practiced these days. 

It annoys the hell out of me that a number of journalists publish without question the Gospel according to Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming.  There is actual science being published on the subject but it is being mostly ignored in the MSM.   Why is that?  Because it contradicts the faith?  How can readers make informed decisions when so much data appears to be deliberately withheld from the public? 

There are a number of internet outlets available for those wishing to evaluate for themselves where the truth lies with regard to whether or not this Planet is about to cook itself into oblivion.

Two award-winning Blogs worth mentioning are: 

http://wattsupwiththat.com/

http://joannenova.com.au/