-Caveat Lector- Stossel just doesn't learn: trying to expose the truth WILL BE PUNISHED. Tell lies will get accolades from all the media liars.He needs to learn this. ----------------------------------------------------------- On Sat, 30 Jun 2001 00:18:14 -0700 Steve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > -Caveat Lector- > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > Date sent: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 11:07:12 +0000 > From: Robert Sterling <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Konformist: MORE UNDERHANDED REPORTING FROM > ABC NEWS > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [ Double-click this line for list subscription options ] > > Please send as far and wide as possible. > > Thanks, > > Robert Sterling > Editor, The Konformist > http://www.konformist.com > > > Sam Johnston > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > John Stossel has been trashing organic agriculture and > environmental "scaremongers" for some time. Now he's after the kids, > but it's starting to backfire. Tune in this Friday on ABC, check you > local listings. Contact info for Stossel and ABC at bottom. Be polite > to be heard. For more info see: > > http://www.ewg.org > > Stossel's deceptions reveal to all his Achilles' Heel. Opportunity > knocks. > ____________________ > > www.tompaine.com/news/2001/06/26/index.html > > > MORE UNDERHANDED REPORTING FROM ABC NEWS > > The Story Behind John Stossel's Latest Attack on Environmentalism > > > John Stossel is back in action. Stossel is a commentator on > ABC's "20/20," where he devotes much of his time to railing against > government regulations. According to FreeMarket.net, Stossel is "one > of the libertarian movement's most valuable proponents." His staunch > libertarian perspective influences much of his commentary, sometimes > to the detriment of its accuracy. > > Last summer, Stossel attacked the organic food industry using > fabricated and distorted scientific studies. His fans sprang to his > defense, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think > tank, even sponsored a website in his honor, SaveJohnStossel.com. > > Stossel is now gearing up for another attack on greens, this time in > the form of a screed against environmental education. The program is > reportedly scheduled to air on Friday, June 29, 2001. According to > educators and parents whose children were interviewed for the show, > Stossel has once again allowed his beliefs to interfere with his > journalistic duties. > > Stossel's Sudden Arrival > > An environmental educator, who was present for Stossel's interviews > with children and was also interviewed himself, is concerned about > Stossel's tactics. > > John Quigley is the executive director of Earth Day Los Angeles. In > April, he hosted a field day for 2,000 kids to teach them about clean > energy solutions. The day's events were filmed by Debbie Colloton, > one of Stossel's producers. > > "We had an educational experience where everything was solar-powered > at the event," Quigley said. "There were local presentation areas > that were solar-powered. Kids learned about clean transportation and > about things they can do in their homes." > > Colloton also visited an elementary school to interview kids. She > subsequently arranged for 10 children, grades two through five, to be > taped in a studio setting as they talked about the environment. > > Colloton never mentioned Stossel's involvement with the project. "We > still didn't think anything," Quigley said. "We just didn't know. We > thought Debbie Colloton was going to do the interviews for her ABC > documentary." > > Quigley was wrong, however, because about five minutes before taping, > John Stossel showed up. "Debbie Colloton announces that Stossel will > be interviewing the kids," Quigley said. "It didn't raise a red flag > because all I knew was that he was a commentator for ABC. It did seem > odd that his name was never mentioned at all and all of a sudden he > shows up." > > Stossel interviewed the kids for about 30 minutes on environmental > topics before showing his agenda, Quigley said. > > "He started asking leading questions and it was very clear what he > wanted to get," Quigley said. "He would say, 'Wow, it's really scary, > isn't it?' And the kids weren't scared at all and so they just looked > at him. He asked that question repeatedly." > > According to Quigley, Stossel was having a hard time getting what he > wanted. "These were bright kids, and they were responding well. He > was clearly trying to elicit certain responses on tape. When he > didn't get the verbal response he wanted, he had the crew shoot from > behind and had the students raise their hands while he asked, 'Is the > air getting dirtier or cleaner?' It was clear that he wasn't > interested in honest dialogue but was trying to elicit certain > responses for a script he had already written." > > Although Quigley was bothered, he thought Stossel was just asking > tough questions. He agreed to tape a discussion with Stossel and > fellow educators the following Monday. > > About 30 minutes into the interview with educators, Stossel changed > the tone from a round-table discussion to an attack. "He proceeded to > attack the elementary school teachers, telling them, 'You're scaring > these kids,' " Quigley said. "At one point he raised his voice and > was yelling it, 'You're scaring these kids,' but this time, like it > was a dramatic performance for TV, he said over his shoulder, 'That > was over the top.' The impression I got was that he was telling the > cameraman that this wasn't to be used." > > Quigley said Stossel tried to get the group to fight back, but the > group didn't take the bait. "For the most of the attack," Quigley > said, "the six of us were stunned. We tried to bring it back to a > dialogue. We responded as best we could given the circumstances." > > He worries that the footage will be edited to support Stossel's > agenda. "He would have to be a very dark force to turn that footage > into something else." > > Quigley is not alone. On June 25th, parents of the children who were > interviewed wrote to John Stossel and revoked their consent for their > children to appear in the piece. "Some of us witnessed the interview > you conducted with our children, and saw how you asked leading > questions to get them to say what you wanted," the parents wrote. > > Michael Scott, one of the parents who signed the letter, was present > when his two children, Zachary, age 8, and Rachel, age 10, were > interviewed. Scott said that he felt something was wrong when Stossel > asked the children to answer in unison to questions. > > According to Scott, Stossel asked the children if all scientists > agree about the cause of global warming. "What he was looking for is > for the kids to say, 'All scientists agree.'" Scott said Stossel also > led the children to saying they were scared. "Prior to being asked in > unison, no one said they were scared," Scott said. "Then Stossel > said, 'This is pretty scary stuff, yeah?' and some of the kids > agreed." > > Scott thinks Stossel didn't do enough investigation to draw any > conclusions. "A lot of information my son gets is from reading and > not from school. He didn't ask, 'Did you learn that from your dad? > Did you learn that from your friends?'" Scott said. "My son is 8 and > he reads National Geographic. I'm amazed at the amount of information > he has and I know he didn't get it all from school." > > Brad Neal, another parent, is also angry. "He totally manipulated the > interviewing process," Neal said. "He asked questions again and again > until he got what he wanted. He used the word scared like 15 times. I > kind of have to kick myself for not pulling out my kids right then." > > Both Scott and Neal were contacted by Dawn Porter, Director of News > Practices for ABC, yesterday when the letter was made public. Neal > said that ABC would like to meet with the parents, but he is not sure > he is interested. "I just asked Debbie Colloton, who was also on the > phone, 'Why didn't you let us know it was Stossel? Why didn't you let > us know what the piece was about?'" > > Neal said that he just wants his kids out of the piece. "This is > against everything I am teaching my kids," Neal said. "I'm teaching > my kids to be honest, even when it's uncomfortable, to be > forthright." Neal's children are Brandon, age 10, and Sam, age 8. > > The Environmental Working Group, which previously went after Stossel > for his report on organic food, coordinated the letter. EWG > California Director Bill Walker said that Stossel's conduct violated > the Code of Ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists. "It > says that you are supposed to use special sensitivity when dealing > with children," Walker said. > > ABC released a statement yesterday denying that the interview was > inappropriate. "While ABC News is confident that the interview was > handled in a respectful and sensitive manner according to the highest > journalistic standards, we take the concerns of these parents > seriously and are reaching out to them to open a direct line of > communication to resolve this issue," the statement said. > > But ABC's version of events, as told through their public relations > department, differs from the parents' account. "We didn't know that > it was going to be 'controversial' until we went into the field and > heard the kind of information that was being taught to the kids -- > which turned out to be highly partisan and very one-sided. Our report > will reflect exactly what we saw and heard," ABC's Jeffrey Schneider > said. > > Quigley disagrees. "It's going to be tough for Stossel and his crew > to get what they wanted," he said. He's tried to explain what > happened to the children. But, he says, "What they are learning is > that they can't trust the media." > > Shaping the Story > > Although ABC says it went into the field with an open mind, there is > evidence to the contrary. > > In March -- a month before Stossel's producers turned up at Quigley's > event -- a group called Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment > (RISE) posted an email to their listserv. RISE serves as a pesticide > industry front-group, according to Sheldon Rampton, editor of PR > Watch. The email was a message from Michael Sanera, director of > environmental education research at the Stossel fan club known as the > Competitive Enterprise Institute. The email was later forwarded to > environmentalists. > > "I have been contacted by ABC News," Sanera wrote on March 20, > 2001. "A producer for John Stossel is working on a program on > environmental education. He needs examples of kids who have > been 'scared green' by schools teaching doomsday environmentalism in > the classroom. (He needs kids and/or parents to appear on camera.) I > have some examples, but I need more. Would you send out a notice to > your group and ask if they know of some examples." > > Jeffrey Schneider, from ABC's public relations department, confirmed > that Stossel's producer contacted Sanera about the environmental > education story. Schneider also confirmed that Sanera had recommended > that the producers contact a teacher named John Borowski, a supporter > of environmental education. > > Borowski teaches marine science and biology at North Salem High > School in Oregon. He received a call from Ted Balaker and Debbie > Colloton, Stossel's producers, on April 9, 2001. Balaker and Colloton > told him that they were working on a documentary. > > The call aroused his suspicions. Through his contacts in the > environmental community, Borowski had already seen a copy of the > email in which Sanera claimed to be working with Stossel's producer. > However, when he asked Balaker and Colloton if they were working with > Sanera, they said no. Borowski subsequently called Sanera. "He told > me he was working with a producer named Ted Balaker on a program for > John Stossel," Borowski said. "They lied to me." > > ABC's Schneider says that the producers did not work with Sanera, > despite appearances to the contrary. "The moment we became aware of > his email, we demanded that he cease and desist," says Schneider. > Sanera, he said, "played no role whatever in bringing this story to > ABC News." > > In a call with Balaker on April 12, Borowski asked if he was working > with Stossel on the documentary, and Balaker said that he'd worked > with Stossel in the past, but not on the current project. However, > ABC says that Borowski was told that Stossel was involved in the > project. > > In the end, neither Sanera nor Borowski were interviewed for the > documentary on environmental education. > > Expecting More from ABC News > > Is Stossel once again preparing to unleash a report based on his > anti- > environmental prejudices and deceptive interviewing tactics? Perhaps, > but only the final piece will show. PR Watch's Sheldon Rampton thinks > Stossel went too far. > > "Deception is sometimes a justifiable journalistic tactic when > exposing people who are engaged in fraud or other wrongdoing," > Rampton said. "We are all familiar with the '60 Minutes' segments > where a hidden camera and a false identity are used to catch someone > on film lying to a reporter or offering to commit a crime. Stossel, > however, has used deception to entrap schoolteachers. There is simply > no justification for Stossel's decision to use deception and > concealment when the sole purpose of that deception is to disguise > his own editorial slant from the people he is interviewing." > > On the ground in Los Angeles, John Quigley is upset. "There is a > difference between journalism that is balanced and asks tough > questions and so-called journalism where the story is > sensationalized," he said. "This is a sensationalized approach, a > Jerry Springer type mentality. You expect more from ABC News." > > © 1999-2001 The Florence Fund > > > CONTACT: > David Westin, > ABC News > 47 W. 66th Street > New York, NY 10023 > > Phone: 212-456-7777 (ABC News general number) > Fax: 212-456-4297 > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (ABC News) > > John Stossel > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > If you are interested in a free subscription to The > Konformist Newswire, please visit: > > http://www.eGroups.com/list/konformist > > Or, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the > subject: "I NEED 2 KONFORM!!!" > > (Okay, you can use something else, but it's a kool > catch phrase.) > > Visit the Klub Konformist at Yahoo!: > http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/klubkonformist > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! 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