CNN Town Hall Went Deep on Climate Crisis—but Was Anyone Listening? view post on FAIR.org by Julie Hollar Given the Democratic National Committee’s refusal to allow its party’s presidential hopefuls to take part in a televised climate debate, CNN (and, later this month, MSNBC) agreed to host “town halls” on the climate crisis—events with one candidate at a time on stage, fielding questions from network hosts as well as network-selected audience members. CNN‘s climate crisis town hall (9/4/19) showed that, when it’s not setting up mock combat among candidates, the network can actually provide thoughtful and substantive discussion about critical policy issues. Over the seven hours, the ten candidates were spared the ridiculously short time limits enforced in televised debates that require superficial answers. Environmental activists and other interested and well-informed citizens were given the opportunity to ask probing questions about specific plans, and to force candidates to answer for their past (and present) climate-related stances. A New York Times headline (9/5/19) treats a tax on carbon as a dirty word. (The online version of the story is here.) But it’s not enough. Viewership for a town hall will never approach that for a party-sponsored debate—which is in part ensured by the lack of media hype and coverage. CNN averaged 1.1 million viewers across the seven hours of the town hall (TheHill.com, 9/5/19), compared to an average of nearly 10 million across the two nights of its debates (Hollywood Reporter, 8/1/19). Neither the Washington Post nor USA Today published write-ups of the event in their print editions the next day; the New York Times ‘ write-up (9/5/19) played up the drama, focusing on one policy issue that it deemed “controversial”—the idea of a carbon tax (the “T-Word,” as the headline put it). Given that lack of coverage combined with low viewership, what impact will the town halls make? The media hosts of the upcoming debates ought to view them as a foundation for asking more climate questions in the debates, question that—now that candidates have established their positions in much more detail—can probe deeper. The danger, however, is that instead they’ll take the town halls as a free pass to ask fewer climate-related questions, claiming the issue has already been covered. And while we can hope for debate questions as informed as the ones CNN audience members asked at the town hall, many of the questions lobbed by CNN hosts themselves—like those from the first two debates—give us little reason to expect it. The moments in which CNN hosts tried to be “tough” on candidates were largely based on Republican talking points, like how much their plans would cost (ignoring how much inaction would cost), and whether Americans would be “forced” to drive electric cars or give up meat. CNN‘s Anderson Cooper questions Sen. Bernie Sanders at the climate town hall. Anderson Cooper, for example, followed up on an audience question about how Bernie Sanders would fund his climate plan by pressing Sanders, “Would you guarantee to the American public tonight that the responsibility for $16.3 trillion, which is a massive amount of money, wouldn’t end up on taxpayers’ shoulders?” Meanwhile, CNN‘s Chris Cuomo asked Elizabeth Warren: “Do you think that the government should be in the business of telling you what kind of lightbulb you can have?” These echoed the framework both CNN and NBC used for their debate questions, which—across issues—leaned on right-wing assumptions and talking points (FAIR.org, 7/30/19, 8/2/19). Audience questions, on the other hand, were informed and useful, bringing some refreshing assumptions about things like the need for “massive industrial mobilization” to solve the climate crisis and frequent references to race- and class-based impacts of climate disruption. It’s remarkable—and commendable—that they were given a platform by CNN. But we need more of that in the more widely viewed debates. Messages to CNN can be sent here (or via Twitter @CNN). Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your message in the comments thread of this post. Featured image: Sen. Elizabeth Warren at CNN‘s climate town hall.

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Michael Moore | Finally, 20 Years Later, Walmart Does the Right Thing

05 September 19

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Michael Moore | Finally, 20 Years Later, Walmart Does the Right Thing

Michael Moore, Michael Moore's Facebook Page
Moore writes: "Yesterday Walmart finally announced they'd stop selling ammo for assault weapons & handguns - 20 years AFTER these 2 boys, Richard and Mark, were shot at Columbine High School - and 18 years after I took them to K-mart headquarters where the three of us convinced K-mart to permanently ban their assault weapon and handgun ammo."
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Teenage migrants are detained by the U.S. Border Patrol, 17 June 2018, in McAllen, Texas. The children were separated from their families under the zero tolerance policy. (photograph: Alamy)

'I Can't Feel My Heart': Children Separated Under Trump Show Signs of PTSD, Watchdog Finds
Associated Press
Excerpt: "Separated from his father at the US-Mexico border last year, the little boy, about seven or eight, was under the delusion that his dad had been killed. And he thought he was next."
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A loved one tries to comfort Catherine Russel, right, after she arrived in Nassau with other Abaco Islands survivors Wednesday. (photo: Carolyn Van Houten/WP)

Massive Rescue and Relief Effort Underway in Ravaged Bahamas as Dorian Aims at Carolinas
Anthony Faiola, Maria Sacchetti, Tim Craig and Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "A massive search-and-rescue operation scoured the islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama amid a growing awareness that Hurricane Dorian unleashed a catastrophe unlike anything seen in this part of the world."
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Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue speaks at the White House. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump Admin Plans to Gut Food Stamps, Hitting Red States Hardest
Alan Pyke, ThinkProgress
Pyke writes: "President Donald Trump's latest attack on working families will hit especially hard in the states that voted for him: More than half of the people who are set to lose access to food stamps under regulations proposed this summer live in states that went for Trump in 2016."
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Fans gather at a party to celebrate the launch of the YouTube Kids app in 2015. (photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images/YouTube)

Google's Punishment for Violating Kids' Privacy on YouTube: $170 Million
Peter Kafka, Vox
Kafka writes: "Google's YouTube has agreed to pay million in fines to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it illegally harvested children's personal data, which it used to serve them personalized ads."
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'That as Arabs students, they have to learn this information to pass their exams - imagine how humiliating that is?' said one parent. (photo: AFP)

Reading, Writing and Racism: 'Nation-State' Law Now Official Israeli Curriculum
Lubna Masarwa, Middle East Eye
Excerpt: "Starting this school year, all Israeli students must learn about the law which codifies Jewish supremacy, a change decried by Palestinian-Israeli parents and teachers."
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The Energy Department is reversing energy-efficiency standards for lightbulbs that were set to take effect next year. (photo: Charles Krupa/AP)

Trump Rolls Back Regulations on Energy-Saving Lightbulbs
Shannon Van Sant, NPR
Van Sant writes: "The Energy Department announced the move on Wednesday, withdrawing standards that were to be put in place to make commonly used bulbs more efficient."
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