Full Disclosure

The Intersection
By Chris Mooney
Mar 3, 2006 8:19 PMNov 5, 2019 10:12 AM

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From today's Postpiece on the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet:

But some scientists remain unconvinced. Oregon state climatologist George Taylor noted that sea ice in some areas of Antarctica is expanding and part of the region is getting colder, despite computer models that would predict otherwise. "The Antarctic is really a puzzle," said Taylor, who writes for the Web site TSCDaily [sic], which is partly financed by fossil fuel companies that oppose curbs on greenhouse gases linked to climate change. "A lot more research is needed to understand the degree of climate and ice trends in and around the Antarctic." [Italics added]

In this situation the question for any journalist becomes: If you feel duty-bound to describe a source in such a way as to undermine what the source saying in the eyes of the average reader, then should you really be quoting that source at all?

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