Agreed. The norms of the "climate beat" seem very different than those of, say, the "politics beat" where (some at least) believe their role is to hold the powerful accountable. On climate it sometimes seems that the climate beat exists to protect the powerful from being held accountable.
Agreed. The norms of the "climate beat" seem very different than those of, say, the "politics beat" where (some at least) believe their role is to hold the powerful accountable. On climate it sometimes seems that the climate beat exists to protect the powerful from being held accountable.
Upstream of norms in accounting for the difference in quality of coverage is the nature of the subject matter. There have been plenty of street-smart kids without formal training who started on the police desk and made themselves into perfectly adequate reporters of doings around City Hall and the State House. That's much more difficult to do given the multiple disciplines involved in the claims around climate science. This stuff is hard!
Agreed. The norms of the "climate beat" seem very different than those of, say, the "politics beat" where (some at least) believe their role is to hold the powerful accountable. On climate it sometimes seems that the climate beat exists to protect the powerful from being held accountable.
Upstream of norms in accounting for the difference in quality of coverage is the nature of the subject matter. There have been plenty of street-smart kids without formal training who started on the police desk and made themselves into perfectly adequate reporters of doings around City Hall and the State House. That's much more difficult to do given the multiple disciplines involved in the claims around climate science. This stuff is hard!