Ohio Stations not questioning Climate Change

Computer Assisted Reporting Class Photo Credits Karl Idsvoog

Who is holding members of congress accountable on today’s hotly debated, popular topics?

The Computer Assisted Reporting Class at Kent State University reported that the majority of commercial television station in Ohio did not question their members of Congress on climate change.  The class called every commercial satiations in Ohio, to question them if they have ever questioned their member on climate change. 
Our date shows not one station has covered this story. 

After calling and emailing news directors from  WEWS, WJW, WOIO, WTOV, WFRT, WNWO, WCMH, WYSX, WBSN, WKRC, WLWT, and WHIO, only one stations responded to our simple request. The request was to have them answer four simple questions about how the station is, or is not, holding their members of Congress accountable to climate change.

Rich Pierce WTOV 

WOIO, Cleveland’s 19 News Director Fred D’Ambroski did answer and told us he would call us back at a better time. Same thing goes for David Ciliberti of WCMH in Columbus. Richard Pierce, the managing editor and anchor at WTOV, did return a phone call with in one hour of leaving a voicemail.

Pierce covered stories pertaining to climate change in the past. The station has interviewed senator Sherrod Brown, and congressman Bill Johnson.

“They don’t argue the degree in which man has contributed to it, but that’s sort of their sticking point to it, that they say they can’t be certain that this is man made or man caused, or if man has even exacerbated the issue,” Pierce said.

In the valley coal production is a controversial topic and one of the areas biggest industries supporting the area.  According to Pierce, there happens to be more of a push on keeping the coal jobs in the valley then their in on climate change.

“They are more worried about jobs then they are about climate change,” said Pierce.

 

Charles Lewis, former producer of “60 Minutes”, was not surprised that local TV stations were not reporting or holding their members of Congress accountable on climate change.

In an interview with Charles Lewis, he explained how many local stations are just doing basic reporting. Stations produce news on fires, gunshots, weather, sports, and traffic, with maybe some national news.  

“It’s real it’s right their and no one will be offended. It’s basic stuff, and that way they will not weigh in to anything controversial,” Charles Lewis Said.

So the question still remains, why are media stations not covering their members of Congress.

After doing some light investigation and taking to Charles Lewis, he opened up on some of his investigation on the media and who controls them.

Even though the air waves are technically owned by the American people, media stations are owned by corporations with money.

“Climate Change is about the oil and gas industry, they have known since the 70s the polar caps are going to start melting and we were going to have problems,” Lewis said.

Why haven’t any of the news organizations held anyone accountable for this? If the world has known the polar caps were going to melt for the last 40 years, why hasn’t there been a bigger push to prevent climate change?

“Do the broadcasters who make millions of dollars from the oil and gas industry, do you think they want to mess up a good thing for them financially, and start covering in a tenacious way about climate change, there is no way in hell they are going to do that,” Lewis said.

Some of the Kent State University journalist who worked on the Climate Change project were surprised by the findings of their research.

“Its upsetting that stations are not holding members of Congress accountable and asking the tough questions. These members are elected to serve us the people and they need their feet held to fire,” Eric Poston, Kent State University Reporter said.

The reporters did however discover that the more stations they called the same answers they were receiving, either a straight up no, or “we will direct you to the person with the answers.” Yet the majority of stations in Ohio could not show us proof of a climate change story that was produced by a local station.

“As a journalist, I know how easy it is to get ahold of someone and ask them a couple of questions; I’m just surprised that our local stations can’t do something like that,” Megan Deierling, Kent State University Reporter said.

As this world changing topic draws nearer to reality, we as the people of the next generation will sure find out how the story plays out. As for the journalist, it all depends on who is asking the right questions and is holding the leaders of the world accountable.