Author: John G. West
Kansas City Star and Arizona Republic Report, You Decide
Since this blog devotes a lot of space to exposing what happens when journalists don’t report fairly or accurately on the evolution issue, I’d also like to highlight articles written by reporters who have tried hard to be impartial and who have done their homework. Two examples occurred this past weekend, when the Kansas City Star and the Arizona Republic ran feature stories about the evolution debate that allowed both sides to make their points. The Star article is here, and the Arizona Republic piece is here. The reporters and editors of these papers deserve credit for producing thoughtful stories that treat all sides of the debate with fairness and respect.
Boston Globe Worries about Invasion by “Creationists”
While the rest of the country worries about terrorists who try to blow up people here and abroad, the editorialists at the Boston Globe worry about an invasion by… American creationists. Today the Globe is running an overwrought editorial with the hysterical title “Creationists at the gate” — conjuring up images of stampeding hordes of vandals and visigoths about to overrun civilized society. It is becoming harder and harder to lampoon the liberal newsmedia on the evolution issue, because their hysteria apparently knows no bounds. If the liberal media want to be taken more seriously by the majority of Americans, they might start by trying to base their opinions on facts rather than fantasies. For example, the Globe repeatedly warns Read More ›
Once Upon a Time
As noted in a previous post, Time’s recent article about intelligent design reads more like an editorial than a news report. Here is an itemized list of some of the ways Time slanted and misreported its story:
Biologist Faces Inquisition at the Smithsonian
Today’s Wall Street Journal is running a shocking article reporting on an alleged campaign of harassment and intimidation by Darwinists at the taxpayer-funded Smithsonian Institution. The target? Biologist Richard Sternberg. Sternberg, you may recall, was the biology journal editor who had the courage to allow publication of Discovery Fellow Stephen Meyer’s article supportive of intelligent design after it had been approved through the standard peer-review process. At the time, Sternberg attracted a firestorm of criticism from Darwinists outside the Smithsonian. Now it appears that officials at the Smithsonian have tried to destroy Sternberg’s career and drive him from his position. The federal government’s Office of Special Counsel is currently investigating whether Sternberg’s civil rights have been violated. Among other things, Read More ›
A Waste of TIME
Time magazine demonstrates yet again why fewer and fewer people are turning to the old-guard media for their news. In its Jan. 31 issue, the once venerable news organ is running a hackneyed article on intelligent design as a secret conspiracy (yawn!). Bearing the hysterical title “Stealth Attack on Evolution,” the piece comes with an even more fevered subtitle: “Who is behind the movement to give equal time to Darwin’s critics, and what do they really want?!!!! ” Okay, I added the emphasis and exclamation points. But the title deserves it. It reads like something you’d see in a supermarket tabloid. Time lists three authors for the story: Michael Lemonick, Noah Isakson, and Jeffrey Ressner. But in the interest of Read More ›