News Media Icon News Media

KNME waging misinformation campaign

PBS station KNME is lying today in an effort to shrug off claims of censorship because of their banning of Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

Today the station manager, Chad Davis, is claiming that it is a lie that PBS.org sells the video. It isn’t a lie that the video was available on the PBS.org and ShopPBS.org websites up until yesterday. Suddenly, PBS is joining their affiliate in an effort to censor science. (Calls to PBS for comment have been ignored.)

Here’s the proof. Here is a PDF that shows a scan of a page we printed out on Tuesday of this week that clearly shows UMOL was available for purchase on the PBS web site. Even better is this PDF that Illustra Media, the film’s producers, provided us which shows that UMOL was one of three featured science videos on the PBS website near the end of 2003.

The KNME station manager, Chad Davis, is also lying and saying that ID proponents in New Mexico have refused to be in a debate on intelligent design. That simply is not true as evidenced by this press release yesterday from IDNet New Mexico.

IDNet said:

“[Dr. Rebecca] Keller said that IDNet-NM is negotiating with KNME to provide an alternative platform for discussing the concerns surrounding the controversies over theories of biological origins. … However, Keller notes that a debate does not replace a first-hand look at the design theory presented in the documentary. She and others at IDNet-NM would like a forum where the documentary could be aired, followed by an informed discussion where both sides are represented.”

That was yesterday, before KNME started claiming otherwise.

This morning Keller called Davis and told him to stop telling people that they had refused to debate. According to Keller, Davis said as far as he was concerned they had refused. Keller and others also spoke with John Lawrence, offering debate options for next week, but Lawrence apparently told Davis the conversations were “not productive.” Keller reiterated to Davis that they just couldn’t get anything scheduled with only a few hours notice but that they would like to do something this coming week. He told her that KNME doesn’t have time for it next week.

I know too that Lad Allen at Illustra Media spoke with Davis and Davis indicated at that time that he was considering if KNME should just go ahead and produce their own show on intelligent Design. Illustra offered to come to KNME at no charge and help them produce the show, but KNME has not returned any calls or accepted Illustra’s offer.

How typical.

Robert Crowther, II

Robert Crowther holds a BA in Journalism with an emphasis in public affairs and 20 years experience as a journalist, publisher, and brand marketing and media relations specialist. From 1994-2000 he was the Director of Public and Media Relations for Discovery Institute overseeing most aspects of communications for each of the Institute's major programs. In addition to handling public and media relations he managed the Institute's first three books to press, Justice Matters by Roberta Katz, Speaking of George Gilder edited by Frank Gregorsky, and The End of Money by Richard Rahn.

Share

Tags

__edited