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Why Climategate doesn’t matter

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Media Nation - By Dan Kennedy - Dec. 03 (News Analysis) - For the past several weeks, conservative commentators have been buzzing about “Climategate” — hacked e-mails from the Climatic Research Unit in Britain that show some scientists may have been cooking the books in an attempt to bolster the case for global warming. “Assuming the e-mails are genuine, they are nothing short of scandalous,” writes Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, a prominent global-warming skeptic. And, inevitably, Climategate enthusiasts are demanding to know why the big, bad mainstream media are ignoring the e-mails. I am not going to deal with the e-mails. As I recall a prosecutor once telling a jury, I don’t have to prove that Mr. Doe is the sort of person who’s capable of murdering his wife if I can prove that he, in fact, murdered his wife. In the same vein, I don’t have to defend scientists who may have been mucking with the data to boost the case for global warming if I can show that the earth is actually warming. So today I present the first of 10 stories, some of which you’ve probably seen before, that are grounded not in data or computer simulations, but in the reality of global warming. If you have any nominations, please pass them along. I’ll probably stop when I get to 10. And if you really want to know more about Climategate, I recommend the excellent Climateprogress.org blog, written by Dr. Joe Romm.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.1 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Critical mass for same-sex marriage

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Media Nation - By Dan Kennedy - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - At some point, though, it seems inevitable that liberal, blue California will re-enshrine same-sex marriage. And with more than 36.7 million people, it remains the big prize. Add them to the other six states plus New York, and you've got 58.9 million people, or 21.7 percent of the U.S. population.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Free the Kazakhstan Internet

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Media Nation - Apr. 27 (News Report) - During my brief time in Kazakhstan, I got the impression that the government is trying to move beyond its repressive past. The country, a former Soviet republic, also seems to be an island of stability in a volatile part of the world. It would send a strong and encouraging message if the government drops its proposal to censor speech online.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A local take on global coverage

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Media Nation - By Dan Kennedy - Apr. 11 (Review) - Even as we lament the ongoing collapse of the newspaper business as we've known it, there are reasons to be optimistic about the survival of journalism. I thought I would take a look at how three Boston-area online news sources — Global Voices Online, GlobalPost and the Christian Science Monitor — are covering the anti-communist protests in Moldova.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Next steps for the shrinking Boston Globe

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Media Nation - By Dan Kennedy - Mar. 26 (News Analysis) - Working harder isn't going to do it once the Boston Globe has finished with its current round of 50 reductions to the newsroom staff. Once that process has been completed, the news staff will have shrunk from about 550 full-time journalists (or their equivalent) in 2000 to roughly 330. That means the Globe will, of necessity, be a fundamentally different paper.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A visit with CT News Junkie editor Christine Stuart

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Media Nation - By Dan Kennedy - Mar. 09 (Special Report) - I spent last Wednesday with Christine Stuart, the editor of CT News Junkie, which covers Connecticut politics. Stuart, who's based at the Statehouse in Hartford, posts two to four times a day, often covering hearings on important but secondary stories that the mainstream media ignore.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer