The Spectacle Blog
Clearly there is an organized effort by the Left to discredit Fox News’ “hard news” reporting credibility — most recently on global warming. Last week Media Matters and others criticized the network’s Washington managing editor, Bill Sammon, for a memo he sent to his reporters that told them to “refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question.” In other words, telling them to objectively report the facts. The Leftosphere is in a tizzy.
Now comes a USA Today report about a survey conducted in November which found that “climate science doubts increase the more you watch Fox News:”
The survey results follow news this week from a leaked memo that a Fox News managing editor instructed reporters to note doubts about global temperature increases last year, and a University of Maryland study found that Fox News viewers were “significantly more likely” to believe falsehoods about the economy, political votes and climate science.
“The more Fox News you get, the less likely you are to trust scientists,” says Stanford public opinion expert Jon Krosnick. The November survey of 890 people found that, “more exposure to Fox News was associated with less endorsement of the views of mainstream scientists about global warming, and all of these relationships are statistically significant.”
Yes, this was a perfectly objective survey conducted by an otherwise disinterested public opinion expert at Stanford. Who did the project for the university’s Woods Institute for the Environment, whose mission is “Creating Practical Solutions for People and the Planet.” And Krosnick is is a university fellow at Resources for the Future. Who just so happened to conduct this survey in November, before news broke about the Sammon memo, which implies they were sitting on it as they did their polling and waited until now so they could release a barrage of publicity — in conjunction with other Leftist groups — for maximum impact. And as you see above, Krosnick cited the Sammon memo in his survey report.
All of which USA Today found not relevant to report.
Update 2:00 p.m: I should have known better than to run this post without first checking if Marc Morano at Climate Depot had anything on Krosnick or Woods Institute. He does:
Professor Krosnick’s polling results are so woeful that both Pew Research Center Survey and Gallup polling recently took the time to harshly reprimand him for his shoddy work.
Krosnick has been skewing polling results on global warming for years and has been getting caught every time.
And then there are the public opinion polls by Rasmussen that have shown increasing public skepticism on global warming — outnumbering alarmists.
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Oldefarte| 12.20.10 @ 1:35PM
Wait, wasn't there previously a scientific report from a large group of professional scientists that completely/adequately disqualified the global warming theories as being a unproven hoax? This attack on Fox is just another example of the radical left's domestic terrorism against anything/anyone/everything that even remotely resembles a conservative movement/source. This country is being destroyed by these ultra-liberal morons by their Chicago street justice propaganda methods, and if we all do not WAKE UP and begin the political process of ridding ourselves of their influences, this country's future should be very much in doubt!!!!!
Occam's Tool| 12.20.10 @ 2:21PM
I agree, Olde. In my experience, science questions are not generally solved by the cop from South Park telling people to "move along, there's nothing to see here" which is the equivalent of saying that the science is "settled."
Sorry, the ability to ask impertinent questions is at the very heart of scientific research. An excellent example, well worth reading for AmSpec viewers, is the tumult over H pylori as the cause of the majority of gastric ulcers as opposed to "stress."
Ralph| 12.20.10 @ 2:22PM
What? No mention of Rush Limbaugh? Actually, this is a perfect demonstration of the reason Rush calls it, "the state-run media." The public is starting to recognize that one of the nation's biggest problems is the lack of a responsible Fourth Estate. The editors of USA today and other left-leaning establishment media outlets are nothing more than an echo chamber for the speaking points of the Progessive movement. And that, my friends, explains why more and more Americans are turning to FoxNews to learn the truth about government policy decisions and decision makers.
George S| 12.20.10 @ 2:52PM
Let's settle this once and for all. Subpoena global warming scientists to Capitol Hill to testify under oath the method of determining global warming, starting with NASA and Hanson. Have only FOX and MSNBC broadcast the hearings live. Then take another poll of those watching both stations and explain why people who saw the exact same thing have different opinions. That should keep Media Matters busy while waiting for the IRS audit into their charitable status.
Only Republican at Woodstock| 12.20.10 @ 3:44PM
So, let me get this straight. People who doubt global warming do so because they watch Fox? Maybe people who watch Fox do so because they got sick and tired of the hysterical bias about global warming on other networks and switched to Fox for that (among other) reason. Liberals often seem to have a problem with cause and effect.
I remember some years ago they were complaining that there were too many people in prison, since crime was down. It never seemed to occur to them that crime was down because so many criminals were in prison. Duh!
matthew s harrison| 12.20.10 @ 5:32PM
Message to warmist dummies-NORTHERN EUROPE IS FROZEN SOLID AND IT ISN"T EVEN WINTER YET!
They actually closed airports in the arctic freaking circle yesterday cause everything was frozen solid.....Norway, Denmark-FROZEN SOLID. London-both airports shut-they have been in a deep freeze since freaking November 1. At some point these warmists have to say to themselves,......they are onto us-and they were onto us just as soon as there were polar bears walking around on frozen freaking tampa bay!
IDIOTS!
Frank Slojkowski | 12.20.10 @ 5:40PM
Hats off to FOX News and John Scott! This morning, John interviewed a bologist regarding his theory that diminishing arctic ice is leading to increased inter-species breeding which, in turn, may lead to the extinction of polar bears. John politely and fairly allowed the scientist to make his case. Then, at the end, John pointed out that many climatologists believe we are in for several decades of cooling due to changing ocean oscillations. And also, John mentioned, he had read a recent report from the US Snow and Ice Data Center that said arctic ice had increased by several hundred thousand square miles or so since 2007. What was the biologist's response to that? Well, he really didn't believe that; and, besides, the models say the arctic could be ice-free by the end of the century!
Hale| 12.21.10 @ 2:04AM
Funny how the right considers things like science, reason, critical thinking and facts to be left wing propaganda.
Hale| 12.21.10 @ 2:04AM
Funny how the right considers things like science, reason, critical thinking and facts to be left wing propaganda.
Hale| 12.21.10 @ 2:04AM
Funny how the right considers things like science, reason, critical thinking and facts to be left wing propaganda.
Dagan| 12.26.10 @ 10:52AM
The links provided have nothing to do with the new survey. That seems to be an old fight in the summer about different polling. Whoop-de-doo.