http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1133
Note how many times Stossel has gotten simple, easily checkable facts wrong. Facts that any serious journalist would have checked by a staff person.
"Stossel's errors are often so obvious that one wonders how they could have ended up on the air."
He is an extremely biased commentator, not a reporter.
"Stossel reported only the most extreme numbers in the study, and ignored the report's caveats about uncertainty--fishy techniques that most journalists probably couldn't get away with."
"All of this was available to Stossel months before his report, but the factually inaccurate segment made it on the air."
"Stories that put environmentalism in a bad light seem irresistable to Stossel."
2007-10-18 03:41:32 · 9 answers · asked by Bob 7 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
cambelp2002 - Honestly, Stossel is different from a reporter. More in the league of Rush Limbaugh or Matt Drudge.
2007-10-18 04:03:38 · update #1
gjtudor - I don't base my scientific knowledge on Al Gore, I base it on science. But it is true that Gore has the basic story right. Global warming is real and mostly caused by us. Even most "skeptical" scientists agree on that. Will it be as bad as Gore claims? I don't know.
And Stossel frequently gets the basic story wrong.
I's not hypocritical to make that distinction.
2007-10-18 04:27:44 · update #2
The first step is to realize that people like Stossel have absolutely no, none, zero, null, –459.67 °F interest in the truth.
His job 1 is self promotion. Job 2 is to sell advertising for ABC.
You understand, of course, how advertising works on television. You need to create an emotionally intense moment and then... cut to commercial.
Pay attention when you watch next time. Then shoot the boob tube, like Elvis.
2007-10-18 06:09:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
"how many times Stossel has gotten simple, easily checkable facts wrong"?
Not any more often than every other reporter. Reporters are good at accurately reporting on events, until they report on something you yourself already know.
I don't consider him a source. I consider him a person who exposes what "everybody knows" when they really don't. There are so many things that everybody hears all the time that are assumed to be true and backed up with facts, and they just aren't true. He exposes those. He encourages you to think and check facts.
2007-10-18 03:48:55 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, just as you said, he's an extremely biased commentator, not a reporter. Some of his stuff is interesting, but sensationalist, or he picks and chooses what he includes in his reports. Leaving a few key facts out is one of the demagogue's favorite tricks.
2007-10-18 03:45:37 · answer #3 · answered by Jeffy_T 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yet another clear illustration of news turning into "infotainment" bought and paid for. Please follow this brief "infotainment" news break, your regular advertisements will soon resume.
I don't consider much of the mainstream media as credible sources of news upon issues that relate to their advertising revenues or the overt political views of their majority shareholders. John Stossel is (in my opinion) just the messenger of choice picked by his employer.
2007-10-18 04:38:33 · answer #4 · answered by Twilight 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, I've never liked nor paid much attention to Stossel. I see from your linked article he's very anti-environmentalist. Is that the reason for your question?
*edit* Nevermind, I just saw Tomcat's question.
2007-10-18 05:26:47 · answer #5 · answered by Dana1981 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I had to laugh, or I’d cry!
Here’s a quote from your link…
“His reports, notable for their one-sided sourcing and rejection of inconvenient facts, are frequently marred assertions… that are misleading or factually incorrect.”
So, you don’t like it when people do this?
Unless their name is Al Gore, of course, in which case he can say whatever he likes, make whatever outlandish, exaggerated claims he cares to, and that’s perfectly ok, because “he got the basic science right”!
Bob, “hypocrite” just isn’t a big enough word to describe you. How do you live with yourself?
Oh, to answer the question: I must confess I’d never heard of him, so I can’t comment on his credibility as a source.
2007-10-18 04:07:45 · answer #6 · answered by amancalledchuda 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
"I love John Stossel. I want to have like a million of his babies."
2007-10-18 04:04:50 · answer #7 · answered by Johnny Fresh 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I stopped believing him a LONG time ago. I can't even watch anything he's on now, even if the subject matter really interests me. :(
2007-10-18 03:44:09 · answer #8 · answered by searching_please 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
no
2007-10-18 03:43:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋