September 1, 2015 5:38 AM

Journalism: The idea that news you have to think about isn't really news at all

WASHINGTON — Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a dire report about the state the planet: July 2015 was the earth’s warmest month on record, dating back to 1880. This wasn’t some one-off study. It was supplemented by similar findings from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Japanese Meteorological Agency; and, of course, it came on top of other studies underlining the perilous state of global warming. But for how troubling the data point seemed to be, it got relatively little press attention, at least on the airwaves. From the morning of August 20 through Sunday evening, the fact that the month we had just endured was the hottest on record was mentioned on major cable news networks all of 10 times.

Regardless of what side of the global climate change debate you happen to call home, there’s no rational way to deny the import of the NOAA report. Over 135 years of record-keeping, July 2015 was the hottest month ever…not that those of us who experienced it need a reminder. Even here in Portland, generally a fairly temperate clime, it felt not unlike living in a pizza oven.

Yeah, it’s been hot. Damned hot. On top of a winter with little precipitation, those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest are surrounded by brown, bone-dry lawns…kindling as far as the eye can see. It’s little wonder we’re experiencing one of the worst wildfire seasons in history.

That being the case, you could be forgiven for thinking that cable news would be all over such a dire report. You’d also have to be forgiven for being wrong. In fact, cable news barely acknowledged the report. During the four-day period from August 20th-23rd, CNN discussed the report five times, MSNBC discussed it five times, and Fox News Channel (surprise) mentioned it not at all. Quelle surprise.

What were these networks discussing during this time frame? Prepared to be (un)surprised.

[T]he name “Donald Trump” was mentioned more than 245 times on MSNBC, more than 265 times on CNN and more than 240 times on Fox News. Those numbers also don’t include shows that reaired (including CNN’s hour-long interview with Trump that was rebroadcast several times), and they only reflect a TVEyes search for the businessman presidential candidate’s full name, not “Donald” or “Trump.”

I wish I could say that information is mistaken, but it’s not. Instead of talking about an issue with potentially serious and significant long-term effects, cable news is engaging in the journalistic version of mental masturbation. Reporters are doing everything short of fellating Trump live on air…but global climate change is virtually ignored.

Panem et circenses, eh? Not my monkeys, not my circus. Give the Sheeple news they don’t have to think about, and reporters can cover Donald Trump as if he’s actually a Very Serious Person wanting to lead this country to racism, hyperreligiosity, sexism, and xenophobia greatness.

Greetings from our new and improved idiocracy….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on September 1, 2015 5:38 AM.

The death toll Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © are responsible for was the previous entry in this blog.

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