Wednesday, September 16, 2009

"There are two sides of this climate change business"

Here's an insight into the workings of the ABC during the 1970s.

Keith Fraser was the Controller of News.

Historian Ken Inglis had access to the ABC's internal files and writes in This is the ABC (at page 285):

Fraser was determined that the habit of editorializing was not to creep into News. 'There are two sides of this apartheid business’, he wrote to all his staff on the eve of a tour by the Springboks Rugby team in 1971, 'and it is our duty as ABC journalists to present both of them... We have no charter at all to express editorial opinions so let us stick to our job and report the facts with balance and good taste.'
Inglis goes on to observe that
If good taste were the criterion the facts about the war in Vietnam might not have been reported at all.
Now lets move forward.

Harry Clarke is a lecturer in economics at La Trobe.

Flip through this powerpoint of his lecture about Climate Delusionism.

He writes:
• Delusionists seek to create false impression of
substantive debate in climate science.

• Implication that because there is 'doubt' - no case
for policy.

• Fostered by
press balance ideas — any view has
'right' to
equal treatment.