Does the media drive global warming?

Question

My class is debating whether global warming is currently happening or not. I've taken the position that, yes, global warming is currently happening, while my opponents have taken the position that global warming isn't happening. They've used the argument that the media drives global warming.

My question: how the media influence people to believe that global warming is happening?

Thanks for your opinions, the facts, etc.

Answer 1

perhaps the media drives people's perceptions of it to an extent, but if people had direct access to current scientific consensus they'd come to the same basic conclusion, which is that global warming is real and caused by humans.  In other words, just about all scientists say it's happening, and if the media concurrs, they're just being accurate in this case.

Answer 2

global warming is happening.  we know because we measured the average temperature around the planet and it has been rising.  it is indisputable that our average global temperature has risen in the last century.

the debate you should be having is whether global warming is caused by man or by other forces.

Answer 3

Global Warming AND the fact that it is caused by humans burning too much fossil fuels both are scientifically widely accepted facts.

There are NO serious scientists who would tell you anything else. In the latest IPCC report, more than 1500 international experts agreed on the science behind climate change. Finde the report here: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.h...

Answer 4

News distribution has little impact on global warming.  They have great influence over man's perception of global warming causes and effects.

Check news from the popular press.  Notice how it is stated as fact that "man generates CO2 and CO2 causes global warming."  It just slips in there, unnoticed.  Also, because no other cause is listed, it is understood to be THE cause.

Although denied by those embracing AGW, there is great debate about how much CO2 affects global temperatures and even "if" man really is causing the rise in atmospheric CO2.

By presenting the basic pro-AGW arguments as "fact" the press is driving a "bandwagon" in support of global warming.  The media drive a belief that everyone believes it and that there is no other side to the argument.

Answer 5

YES, global warming is completely driven by the media, such as Al Gore's movie, which won an oscar to gain publicity, and the IPCC and Gore winning the Nobel Peace prize for striking fear into the hearts of millions, and all the news reports about the fact the planet is heating up. The media uses scare tactics and cheap rhetoric, along with somewhat bogus facts and self-pronounced "experts".

Answer 6

You're going to love this collection of articles.

Was Confusion Over Global Warming a Con Job?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/GlobalWarming/...

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, documents how the media supports the false appearance of controversy on the topic of global warming:

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/05...

Creating controversy where science finds consensus

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1978

"A new study has found that when it comes to U.S. media coverage of global warming , superficial balance—telling "both" sides of the story—can actually be a form of informational bias."

Journalistic Balance as Global Warming Bias

Creating controversy where science finds consensus

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1978

A fairly in-depth treatment of the issue, including industry influence and the media spin on it, is covered here:

http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/Gl...

Media False Balancing Allowed Extreme Views to be Treated Same as Scientific Consensus

http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/Gl...

So yes, the media does drive global warming, not the appearance that it is happening (there's more than enough data to show that), the media promotes the appearance that there is doubt or controversy about the issue.

Why would the media do that?  It's a shameless attempt to capture viewers' attention, at the expense of accurate, honest and truthful reporting.  Television stations are notorious for this shameful tactic, since any boost in viewers and ratings directly increases their advertising revenues.

But do we have any evidence of this?  You bet we do:

At Fox News, a Pundit for Hire

http://www.freepress.net/news/print.php?...

"Objective viewers long ago realized that Fox News has a political agenda. But, when a pundit promotes this agenda while on the take from corporations that benefit from it, then Fox News has gone one disturbing step further"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Mill...

Could this just be a conspiracy theory?  Actually spreading misinformation has been a common tactic of harmful industries, ever since that tactic worked so well for the tobacco industry.  Some of the plaers are even the same this time around:

http://www.nowpublic.com/whos_paid_to_de...

Answer 7

Perhaps one has to think about what drives the media.  They like something that attracts attention and seems important, true, and in this case they have science which all the world's major scientific organisations are concerned about.  There is of cause a market, which some of the media fulfill, for global warming denial, fed by people's reluctance to face any changes to their lifestyle.  The media in some ways muddies the water and it would be best if people took everything in the media with a grain of salt and looked at the publications of reputable scientific bodies and journals.

Edit I commend J.S.'s answer below, if reputable science alone drove the media your class wouldn't be having a debate as no-one would think that the facts were seriously in doubt.

Edit 2 Good points from Stinky Badger, important omissions there from my answer, although it should be said that the proposition that it all could be untrue is also a sensational story which some in the media have tried to run.

Answer 8

Well, I think...  No It's not happening....   I think everyone is just going crazy just b\c it's a little hotter one year..   But the next it's colder ....  Whats the big deal?..????...

Answer 9

I think that GLOBAL WARMING is really happening due to the strange climates we're having these days. Media influence peolple in a way that media tells people that global warming is.. happening. If we you watch the news, then, you might have known about the countries that are experiencing extremely hot climates which is the cause of the depletion of our ozone layer. That's is how media educates people about the cause of global warming and other information in connection with it. That's why, for me, global warming is not a conspiracy, it's the INCONVENIENT TRUTH.

Answer 10

The media drives most national a global issues.  It doesn't mean that the issue is true or not.  I really don't think it matters what the media pushed.  Also it depends on what media source you're referring too.  I'd say most of the media support Global Warming Theory, but not all of them.  As far as how the media influences people, well I don't think they have much motive, unless they are affiliates of someone that does have a motive.  The media is suppose to be objective.  They may not always be so, but in general I don't think they have any agenda.  I think they simply report what they believe to be true based on the evidence they gather.  I believe global warming is true personally.  I see more alternate agenda, mainly political and economical, to deny global warming than to accept it.  The only thing I ever hear from deniers about why people advocate global warming is that Al Gore is trying to better his career.  I can come up with a 100 ways in which people can benefit for denying global warming however.

Answer 11

obviously the media does.  They bhave incredible power to sway the American mind.  And they can have any bias they want.  FoxNews rarely posts anything proving global warming, as they are conservative.  MSNBC, CNN and the other mainstream media never post anything that might put doubt in anyones minds about Global Warming.  Fox had the article on the flaws of An Inconvenient Truth, the others didnt.  It's obvious there is bias

Answer 12

Well its happening, but it may or may not be man made, what the media does is sensationalize it and over dramatize it to get people to watch. Lets face it bad news sells. When you see a global warming program you see horrific flood waves as opposed to the gradual rise in sea-level, horrible droughts, melting snow and ice, steam from smoke stacks. Graphic images and wildly exaggerated outcomes are depicted. They never show that some places will be nicer and have better climates, or explain the stacks are emitting steam, or explain that there is no proof that polar bears are any worse off. The biggest problem with media are the exaggerations so your opponents are right in a way.

Answer 13

Well, if Al Gore so much as makes a sound that resembles the words "global warming" while sneezing in a public restroom, the media jumps all over it and makies a top story with a headline like, "Al Gore Speaks on Global Warming."

But if over 400 scientists gather at a convention in New York City in order to discuss their views on global warming, and they invite Al Gore and he refuses to show even after being offered $200,000 to speak there because the majority of those 400 scientists disagree with his views that any warming is man made and he knows darn well he CAN'T win a debate with scientists that aren't on his payroll, the media doesn't even walk across the street to cover it.

Based on that, I'd say the media is definitely over hyping the falsehood of man made global warming.

Answer 14

Think about this; Earth is billions of years old, constantly changing and will continue to do so for billions of years to come.  The term 'global warming' is a phrase to scare people into thinking the world is coming to an end.

As a child, I remember hearing people claiming the world was coming to an end - that was over 50 years ago and we're still here.........................

The only thing 'man' is doing - is destroying the environment.