CNBC, Fox Business give more time to EPA’s critics than advocates

Television reporting of the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate program gives more attention to its critics than its advocates, according to a study released Tuesday by the liberal watchdog group Media Matters.

Gabriel Nelson of Greenwire writes, “Of the nine leading television news stations, critics of the Obama administration’s plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions outnumbered supporters of the rules by a 4-to-1 margin.

“Leading the way were the three stations owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. — Fox, Fox News and Fox Business — which featured 129 critics and 19 supporters over the past 18 months. Also leaning in that direction was the business channel CNBC, which hosted four times as many opponents of the rules as it did backers.

“The only stations with more supporters than critics were MSNBC and NBC, which had a combined nine guests supporting EPA and two critics.

“Across all nine networks, there were 152 guests who opposed the EPA rules, 35 who supported them and 12 who took a neutral position. The analysis covered the time period from December 2009, when EPA issued a finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a threat to human health and welfare, through this April.”

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