Authors note: This is yet another fine example of the so-called “liberal media” myth and the death of real journalism in the U.S. Apparently the culture that brought us Steno Jude is still actively at work.
Excerpt:
The New York Times, also known as the “paper of record,” omits a key fact in a recent article about the Gulf oil disaster by failing to let readers know that the so-called “experts” downplaying the oil disaster are bought and paid for by the oil industry.
Few media outlets in America have yet covered the fact that a $500K device may have prevented the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, but that is not the story here. The story is that corporate media is killing journalism in America.
Brad Friedman, writing on The BRAD BLOG, has once again exposed a lie of omission by “The Grey Lady.”
Downplaying concerns that the Gulf oil leak could lead to an ecological disaster, the New York Times cites the Gulf of Mexico Foundation as an expert source. The “paper of record”, however, fails to mention that this so-called “conservation group” is financed by the offshore drilling industry.
Friedman’s work speaks for itself. He has been on the New York Times for years, like a fly on washed up marine animals. This is not the first time Friedman has exposed the Times for lies of omission.
According to Friedman:
John M. Broder and Tom Zeller Jr. of The New York Times are kind enough today to offer a front page “News Analysis” which works very hard to offer “balance” on the Gulf oil rig gusher by downplaying concerns of an unprecedented ecological disaster noting “the Deepwater Horizon blowout is not unprecedented, nor is it yet among the worst oil accidents in history.”
They even offer a scientific “expert” to help support that thesis:
What they don’t do, however, is let readers know that Dokken’s “conservation group,” the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, is actually sponsored in large part by the offshore oil drilling industry!
And according to Marian Wang writing at ProPublica yesterday:
At least half of the 19 members of [the Gulf of Mexico's Foundation's] board of directors have direct ties to the offshore drilling industry.
Seven other board members are currently employed at oil companies, or at companies that provide products and services “primarily” to the offshore oil and gas industry. Those companies include Shell, Conoco Phillips, LLOG Exploration Company, Devon Energy, Anadarko Petroleum Company and Oceaneering International.
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation’s president is a retired senior vice president of Rowan Companies Inc., an offshore drilling contractor.
The Times’ article on the Gulf oil leak is a good example that no media outlet should be trusted to provide unbiased, truthful information. Readers must question everything, from every source, no matter what sort of reputation the publication may have.
Read more and get links here: http://www.examiner.com/x-38220-Orlando-Independent-Examiner~y2010m5d5-New-York-Times-coverage-of-Gulf-oil-leak-omits-key-fact