I heart Seth Borenstein 5

When it comes to the environment (and foreign policy, incidentally), scrappy little Knight Ridder kicks Reuters' and AP's ass.  How?  By telling it like it is, without a flabby layer of "balance" obscuring the truth.  The mainstream media is increasingly crippled by its own conventions.  No matter how outrageous the charge, or clear the facts, the media feels duty bound to present every issue as "he said, she said."  This practice, as many folks have suggested, benefits the people who lie.  Every lie is presented on equal footing with the truth.  It gives readers the impression that nothing is a plain matter of fact, that everything -- the temperature of our atmosphere, the condition of Iraq, the beneficiaries of the tax cut -- is simply a matter of partisan spin.  But of course, with all due respect to Derrida (R.I.P.), there are facts, and real journalists should not be afraid simply to state them.

With that said, I give you Seth Borenstein of Knight Ridder.Earlier this week, he wrote a story with the brave -- at least brave in the current media climate -- headline: "Environment worsened under Bush in many key areas, data show."  Not "Democrats say" that the environment worsened, or "environmental groups say" it has worsened, but rather, "data show."  The facts are what they are.  He takes a look at several metrics -- Superfund cleanups, beach closings, civil citations to polluters, asthma attacks, etc. -- and finds that they have all moved in the wrong direction.

Today he wrote a story with a similarly straightforward headline: "Candidates' visions of energy little more than pipe dreams."  Rather than quoting campaign representatives from both sides, he lays out the stark facts:

Energy independence is an unrealistic goal when fuel is bought and sold on a world market where national borders mean little. The amount of oil that could be found by drilling within U.S. borders or saved by greater efficiency is a small fraction of the world oil supply, experts said, and therefore can't do much to affect prices.

World oil demand is increasing while recoverable supply may soon start shrinking. Even at today's high prices, oil remains the fuel of choice for multiple applications, especially transportation, and no substitute is likely for decades.

So experts say that increased U.S. drilling, as Bush wants, and increased conservation, as Kerry wants, are like sand castles built during low tide - sure to be swamped by more powerful global forces. That doesn't make the efforts unworthy as potential contributors to U.S. energy supply, but it does mean they won't deliver energy independence to America for decades, if ever.

Ouch.

For not simply regurgitating spin.  For risking the ire of partisans by stating facts as facts.  For not gilding the lily.  Seth Borenstein, I heart you.

UPDATE: On the issue of media "balance," see also: this.

David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

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  1. Independence Pennant Campaign Posted 12:35 pm
    03 May 2007

    Energy IndependenceFor our nation's complete portfolio of energy independence with zero polltion fuels, see the Independence Pennant Campaign located at http://www.independencePennant.org

    Energy Independence ...zero pollution fuels

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  2. saturnavenger Posted 3:05 pm
    08 Aug 2007

    ReplySeth Borenstein is obnoxious and blamed me for not being able to meet a deadline over a lousy phone call. He is one of the many reasons why Bob Knight is one of my heroes. If Seth and Knight Ridder don't want to write about what me and my associates do for the environment, that's fine. I've got Bill O'Reilly, the greatest journalist ever, and even the NY times. So hey, if Knight Ridder doesn't want my business, I've got other avenues. He's just a typical writer who doesn't want to talk about the environment all that badly. No journalist does these days.  

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  3. Zeus3732 Posted 11:22 am
    24 Oct 2007

    Journalism replaced by dogmaMr. Roberts, you are mistaken. That's what you're calling for and applauding, replacing journalistic integrity with what amounts to religious dogma.  Dogma requires faith and belief in the unseen and unprovable.  It can't be questioned or those questioning be called heretics and worse, and be treated even worse than that.
    Serious and reliable journalism requires much more than dogma.
    From http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles
    "Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.

    Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context. Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or philosophical sense, but it can--and must--pursue it in a practical sense. This "journalistic truth" is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens encounter an ever greater flow of data, they have more need--not less--for identifiable sources dedicated to verifying that information and putting it in context."
    So your urging for "never mind all the facts, just run with the facts that we like" does your cause a great disservice.  I urge you to reconsider your point and position.

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  4. Rushfan Posted 9:00 am
    30 Dec 2007

    A Lib making a phoney case about global warmingThis man is a joke he gets all these 1 sided studies about this Global warming bunk what about all the climatologists ou there who say Global warming is not going on. There are quite a few out there but this guy a person who is supposed to be biased just gets his reports from where they fit him the best. Let me tell you something ask those people in the Midwest who were with out power for weeks in an ice storm if they belive the bunk about Global Warming.The Earth climate comes in cycles and this is just another cycle. Seth Borenstein need next to go do investigation on Big Foot.

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  5. amazingdrx Posted 2:48 pm
    30 Dec 2007

    WowA real live dimbulb limboob!  Enjoy, they are going extinct.
    Their fearless leader could go at any time.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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