#ExxonKnew. US Nightly News Still Doesn’t.
November 13, 2015
ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox
Dear Mainstream media,
This is why people hate you.
cheers,
Peter
Evening News Programs On ABC, CBS, And NBC Have Yet To Address Exxon’s Climate Deception. Nexis and Snapstream searches for “Exxon” and “ExxonMobil” revealed that the nightly news shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC all failed to air a single segment about the growing Exxon story, covering neither the media investigations, the Democratic candidates’ comments, nor the New York Attorney General’s actions.
ABC And CBS Briefly Mentioned New York Attorney General Investigation On Morning News Shows. ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning both briefly mentioned New York Attorney General Schneiderman’s investigation into Exxon in news rundowns. [ABC, Good Morning America, 11/6/15; CBS, CBS This Morning, 11/6/15]
By Contrast, Exxon Developments Have Received Widespread Coverage From Other Media Outlets
Many Media Outlets Have Covered Exxon Story. In contrast to the nightly news programs on ABC, CBS, and NBC, other media outlets, including PBS, NPR, and many large newspapers and wire services have reported on the presidential candidates’ calls for a federal investigation of Exxon and/or the New York Attorney General’s investigation into Exxon. These include:
PBS NewsHour: “Has Exxon Mobil Misled The Public About Its Climate Change Research?” [11/10/15]
NPR: “N.Y. Attorney General Investigates Whether Exxon Mobil Lied On Climate Change” [11/5/15]
The New York Times: “More Oil Companies Could Join Exxon Mobil As Focus Of Climate Investigations”; “Exxon Mobil Investigated For Possible Climate Change Lies By New York Attorney General”; “Exxon Mobil Accused Of Misleading Public On Climate Change Risks” [11/6/15, 11/5/15, 10/30/15]
The Washington Post: “New York Is Investigating Exxon Mobil For Allegedly Misleading The Public About Climate Change” [11/5/15]
USA Today: “Exxonmobil Investigated Over Climate Change Statements” [11/5/15]
The Wall Street Journal: “Exxon Mobil Gets Subpoena From N.Y. Regarding Climate-Change Research” [11/5/15]
Associated Press: “Official: NY Probes Exxon, Peabody Climate Statements” [11/5/15]
Reuters: “New York Investigating Exxon Over Climate Statements: Source” [11/6/15]
Climate Denial Crock of the Week 
November 13, 2015 at 6:38 pm
How much does the oil industry pay in advertising?
That’s why the media isn’t reporting this story. I’m sure we all know that too. 😦
November 14, 2015 at 2:59 am
Energy companies do feature pretty prominently on the major network news programs, especially the weekends.
November 14, 2015 at 6:14 am
Since the story broke, I have cut my own tv cable. I watch the news online, and haven’t seen the Exxon story being featured on the CBC. There’s been a few small stories, but I’d have thought they’d have covered it like they covered the tobacco industry’s fibbing.
If the media has picked it up, then you should mention that to greenman, not me. 🙂
November 15, 2015 at 10:34 am
Oh, no. I meant the energy company advertisements feature rather prominently on network news shows. I was just affirming somewhat by anecdote what you were saying concerning advertising potentially having some influence on the reporting.
November 14, 2015 at 12:08 am
I was going to go way out on a limb and ask how much ExxonMobil advertising these networks run, but earlosatrun beat me to it.
November 14, 2015 at 3:04 am
Please clarify this for me … it seems that there’s confusing signals from the media here.
There’s been talks of RICO investigations for simply misleading the public.
But what the NY AG has targeted is not the “public”, but a simple matter of not giving investors correct information, right?
It’s simply a matter of financial laws wrt. stockholder information… So it’s basically a totally different matter.
Am I correct here?
November 14, 2015 at 10:57 am
The New York AG is looking at the the document dump first, to see which, exactly, if any, laws might have been broken. Exxon obviously hopes that, having delegated disinformation to third parties, they are somehow not responsible – I don’t think that’s credible.
The issue may not be as cut and dried as tobacco, so to speak – so I’m assuming they will take their time and make sure if they do bring a case, it’s a
strong one. I’m getting that New York may have some laws in regard to investment procedures that other states, or even the Feds, do not have – so that might be how they’ll proceed.
legal eagles weigh in.
November 14, 2015 at 11:20 am
I think most countries has law wrt. which information publicly traded companies has to give investors wrt. their situation.
… it’s just a completely different set of laws than what big tobacco was on trial for.
November 14, 2015 at 10:45 pm
It’s the Martin Act:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-10/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-exxon-climate-change-probe
Astonishingly (to me, at least), violation of the Martin Act does not require proof of intent to defraud, of reliance by investors on the misrepresentation or omission, or of damages.
The elements appear to be only (1) a misrepresentation or omission that is (2) material.
Click to access FS_2004-04.pdf
November 15, 2015 at 8:53 am
Good catch, 1happyW. The Martin Act is exactly where the heat will be applied, and it can bear fruit quickly. Crimes against humanity (as ginger baker outlines) will take far longer to establish and prosecution will be difficult—what we need to hope for there is angry mobs, torches, and pitchforks.
November 14, 2015 at 8:39 am
There is one other issue with the main stream media and that’s air time. If you look carefully, there’s very little time for real news. A half hour program requires air time for ads. Then there’s the 5 minute segment at the end known in the trade as a “sparkly”– a feel good story that may not have any relevance to real news.
This all leaves about 10 minutes of real news. Now in a world of war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, political primaries, etc., how much time can the MSM give to this story? And since it requires some backup that might require some thought processes on the part of the viewer, the MSM is incapable of covering the story.
My solution was to forget ever watching any news program (local or national) on the major networks.
November 15, 2015 at 9:02 am
There really isn’t even 10 minutes of “real news” in a half-hour “news” show anymore. The MSM is pretty much a “bread and circuses” wasteland of “infotainment” and disasters/sensationalism anymore, and you have to go to PBS and foreign channels for any substance.
All this should be no surprise—-the MSM is following all the other aspects of our economy and culture into corporate feudalism—-consolidation and monopolization, concern only for ratings and profits, influence from “advertisers” with dirty motives and bottomless buckets of dirty money.
November 14, 2015 at 1:33 pm
I really don’t see how Exxon’s internal climate reports are relevant to their crimes against humanity. Exxon has the right to ignore their own internal advisors.
What they don’t have the right to do is sustain a propaganda campaign which has already resulted in the deaths of millions (according to one U.N. report) and which will result in the deaths of billions and economic harm in the thousands of trillions of dollars.
November 18, 2015 at 5:09 pm
Surely that depends upon the definition of ‘the right’. The existing legal/ economic system is so riddled with holes and corruption that arguably anyone has ‘the right’ to do whatever the hell they like to turn a buck.
The tobacco industry got away with murder for decades (and arguably are still doing so). Chevron’s blatant disregard of ethics and the spirit of the law in their dealings with Ecuador is another classic illustration of how the system benefits those who can afford the best lawyers and costly cynical misinformation campaigns.
November 14, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Reblogged this on Helen of Marlowe's Blog and commented:
And Pacifica, also, has reported on this.