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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (428665)	5/26/2011 6:33:52 AM
From: TideGlider	Respond to of 794130

Ed should go work for Olbermann along with Michael Moore. There they can tap the AirAmerica like future of Al Gore's network. They will be sure not to insult anyone there, if anyone is watching.

To: LindyBill who wrote (428665)	5/26/2011 6:38:25 AM
From: TideGlider	1 Recommendation Respond to of 794130

Al Gore's Current says Sky Italia dropped it over Olberman By Yinka Adegoke Yinka Adegoke – Thu May 19, 6:37 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV cable network has claimed Rupert Murdoch's Italian satellite TV company dropped the network in Italy because it hired liberal politics news anchor Keith Olbermann. News Corp, which controls Sky Italia, has said its dispute with Current Italy had nothing to with politics and is purely about money. It said Current had asked Sky Italia to double the carriage fee. But Current Executive Vice Chairman Joel Hyatt said on Thursday that Current Italy had asked Sky to raise its carriage by 2 euro cents per subscriber -- around 33 percent -- in line with an increase in viewer ratings in 2010. Hyatt said he had amicable early talks with Sky Italia CEO Tom Mockridge over reaching a deal in time for a May 7 deadline, when its previous agreement expired. "We were told by a very senior News Corp source that the order came from New York because we had hired Olbermann," said Hyatt. Murdoch's son James who runs News Corp's international operations recently moved to New York after being promoted to deputy chief operating officer. Gore is currently in Italy and has appeared on talk shows and is speaking out against the decision, according to a Current TV spokeswoman. Sky Italia and News Corp said in separate statements that Current TV's viewer figures had been falling, meaning it could not justify much higher fees. "Current TV asked Sky Italia for double the carriage fee when prime-time viewing had fallen by 40 percent in the past year," said the News Corp statement. "Sky Italia's offer was in line with the market and reflected the performance of the channel. It had nothing to do with politics." A former sportscaster for Murdoch's Fox and ESPN, Olbermann often took aim at conservative politicians and had a long-running dispute with News Corp's Fox News. Olbermann abruptly parted ways with MSNBC in January just three months after he was suspended for campaign donations to the U.S. Democratic Party. Olbermann had been responsible for MSNBC's highest rated show "Countdown" which he is expected to launch on Current next month. In February. Murdoch was asked on Fox Business if he'd consider employing Olbermann again after his run on Fox between 1998 and 2001. "No, we fired him once, we don't believe in firing people twice," said the media mogul. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke, editing by Bernard Orr) news.yahoo.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (428665)	5/26/2011 6:41:55 AM
From: TideGlider	Respond to of 794130

Executive Summary: Science Fiction 5 Years After: Networks Celebrate Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth,' Ignore Scientific Flaws, Criticism By Julia A. SeymourMonday, May 23, 2011 9:45 AM EDT The cause for the end of the world has been imagined by screenwriters to include everything from giant insects and malevolent robots to asteroids the size of Texas. But five year ago in May 2006, Hollywood found a new menace: carbon dioxide. This scenario was different in another respect. It was supposedly true. The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" wasn't intended to be the blockbuster end-of-the-world tale that "Armageddon" was, but it was intended to frighten. The new film was full of disaster footage and catastrophic predictions about climate change. Its leading man: former vice president Al Gore. The apocalyptic warning earned nearly $50 million worldwide and turned Gore into a "movie star," according to the fawning networks. Gore won accolades, including an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize. Reporters and anchors on ABC, CBS and NBC also made a hero of Apocalypse Al, embracing his views and bringing on guests with the same views including one who said Gore had been busy "saving the planet - literally." Gore received almost entirely uncritical coverage from the network morning and evening shows over global warming, despite plenty of evidence - scientific evidence - that would have discredited him and his film. Since the movie's release, nearly 98 percent of those stories have excluded criticism of the so-called "science" of the film. Gore's film has been criticized for many errors and hyperbole regarding the past and future effects of global warming - including his exaggerated claim that sea levels will rise by 20 feet and his now-debunked assertion that Hurricane Katrina was caused by climate change. Such examples were used to scare audiences into accepting Gore's political agenda. The errors and agenda of the film prompted a British judge to rule that the film couldn't be shown in schools without a disclaimer pointing out its inaccuracies and political bias. But those critical views are regularly banished from the networks. The Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute analyzed broadcast news coverage of Gore about climate change and mentions of "An Inconvenient Truth" between May 11, 2006, shortly before the film's release, and April 30, 2011. Here are some of BMI's findings: •Who Needs Science?: Nearly 98 percent of broadcast stories (266 out of 272) failed to challenge the supposedly scientific claims of "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming, including dramatic predictions of sea level rise and links between climate change and extreme weather such as tornadoes, hurricanes, fires and droughts. Many of these claims have been challenged, yet scientific criticism was barely represented by ABC, CBS and NBC. •Gore's Way or the Highway: More than 80 percent (222 of 272) of the network stories and briefs excluded any criticism of Al Gore or his film. About one-fifth of the stories that included opposition were critical of the 2007 Live Earth concerts organized by Gore, but expressed no dissent about global warming. •Gore For President, or VP or Czar: Gore's success with "An Inconvenient Truth," was used by all three networks to push him to run for president again or accept a position within the Obama administration. In one CBS "Early Show" interview, Harry Smith literally tried to pin a "Gore '08" campaign button on the former vice president. •NBC the Worst: NBC has thrown objectivity out the window on the issue of global warming, preferring activism instead. In the past five years, "Nightly News" and "Today" maintained that role by including the lowest percentage of opposing views (17 percent) in its Gore/"An Inconvenient Truth" reports. Its parent company NBC/Universal also partnered with Gore for the Live Earth concerts, which were aired on its networks. •ABC the Best: ABC news programming with "World News" and "Good Morning America," ranked best out of the three networks because they included more opposing views than the other networks. But those views were still only included roughly one-fifth of the time (20 of 95). To improve coverage, BMI recommends: •Don't just take Gore's word for it: Al Gore is certainly a passionate activist, but he isn't a scientist. The networks shouldn't take his interpretation of global warming science as truth. Rather, they should be skeptical because of his very real political agenda. •Include both sides: The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states journalists should "Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant." It is the media's job to inform the public, not persuade them by leaving out alternative viewpoints. Particularly, networks should give skeptical scientists the opportunity to share their findings - just like they include scientists who say manmade global warming is going to devastate the planet. •Recognize that advocacy is not reporting: The SPJ Code of Ethics also says to: "Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context." Read the Full Report Read the Sidebar: Live Earth: NBC Joins the Fight for 'Climate in Crisis,' Fails to Stay Objective mrc.org