Cox reporter and author Elliot Jaspin and documentary film producer Marco Williams converged at San Francisco State University in May to talk to students and visitors and answer questions about their respective projects. Jaspin read an excerpt from his new book Buried in the Bitter Waters and Williams screened his award-winning documentary Banished.
Shaping the Media Message: Satires and Web Videos
Media companies funded by ExxonMobil have produced low-budget web videos satirizing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. “An Inconvenient Story” This web-only video was produced by Competitive Enterprise Institute to criticize Al Gore’s travel in the promotion of “An Inconvenient Truth.” “Al Gore’s Penguin Army” Another group influencing public opinion and receiving money from ExxonMobil is […]
Skateboarding for a Cooler World
What are carbon offsets? Does buying stickers really make up for the pollution you’ve caused? Visit three companies who think it can. Credits: Written, directed, and produced by Niall McKay Presenter: Lee West Senior producer: Oriana Zill de Granados Editor: Carlo Kamin Camera: Andy Schocken, Marissa Aroy, Niall McKay Researcher: Mia Lobel Production Assistant: Ilja […]
Hot Politics
FRONTLINE and the Center for Investigative Reporting go behind the scenes to explore how bi-partisan political and economic forces prevented the U.S. government from confronting what may be one of the most serious problems facing humanity today. The film examines some of the key moments that have shaped the politics of global warming and how […]
Oil Slick
The petro-giants are touting their new sensitivity to global warming. They’re also spending huge amounts of money to defeat anti-warming legislation. To hear the captains of the oil industry speak these days, you’d think the petro-giants are leading the charge against climate change. At a recent energy conference in Houston, the CEOs of both Chevron […]
Science Suppressed
A major climate change report commissioned by the Clinton Administration warned of the impacts on agriculture, coasts, and water. Interview excerpts from Hot Politics reveal the Bush Administration tried to suppress the report. Resource Links: Read the complete National Assessment of Climate Change report online. An email from Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute to Phil […]
Shaping the Media Message: Documentary Films
These documentaries that spread doubt about global warming were funded by energy companies or feature their paid global warming skeptics. “The Greening of Planet Earth” This documentary film was produced by Western Fuels Association, via the now-defunct subgroup “The Greening Earth Society,” an organization that promoted the idea that carbon dioxide (CO2) has beneficial effects […]
Shaping the Media Message: Climate Skeptics in Mainstream Media
Even though a large majority of the scientific community agrees that climate change is real and is caused by human forces, some scientists continue to argue that climate change is a hoax. Many of these scientists have received funding either directly or indirectly by the oil, coal, and gas industries. Mainstream news organizations have helped […]
Shaping the Media Message: Video News Releases (VNRs)
The controversial practice of releasing “fake” news stories and sending them for free to content-starved small local news stations is common in many industries. These Video News Releases (called VNRs) are often aired on these stations as real news, often without any attribution or disclaimers to reveal that the stories were paid for and produced […]
The Manipulation of Science
In the spring of 1998, a remarkable document surfaced. The eight-page “action plan” detailed plans by the American energy industry — notably oil companies and a large electricity producer — to derail the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark treaty aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. At the time, then-President Bill Clinton and his deputies were […]