The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Excessive Film, Gore

Excessive Film, Gore

By Paul Chesser on 10.30.06 @ 9:36AM

Well, at least one news editor is willing to handle modern-day scientific hysteria with a measured approach:

How important is global warming in Maine? Not important enough for local television.

Michael Palmer, the general manager of television stations WVII and WFVX, ABC and Fox affiliates in Bangor, has told his joint staff of nine men and women that when "Bar Harbor is underwater, then we can do global warming stories."

"Until then," he added. "No more."

...A former staff member confirmed the e-mail message that went out during the summer after the stations broadcast a live report from a movie theater in Maine where Al Gore's movie on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," was opening.

Mr. Palmer began his e-mail message: "I was wondering where we should send the bill for the live shot Friday at the theater for the Al Gore commercial we aired."

Mr. Palmer said he wanted no more stories broadcast on global warming because: "a) we do local news, b) the issue evolved from hard science into hard politics and c) despite what you may have heard from the mainstream media, this science is far from conclusive."

Of course, the New York Times felt obliged to get a global warming alarmist to comment on Mr. Palmer's decision.

topics:
Mainstream Media, Television, Business, Global Warming

About the Author

Paul Chesser is executive director for the American Tradition Institute and a senior fellow for the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives. The views he expresses do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.