Two announcements were made this week that are pretty disappointing.
CNN is closing its science and technology unit. Miles O’Brien and six producers are being cut. CNN says science reporting will be folded into its general structure. I’m not impressed.
Then, NBC announced that it was cutting the Weather Channel’s “Forecast Earth” weekend program. NBC (General Electric, really), with private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, bought the Weather Channel earlier this year.
On the one hand, I find it disheartening that a mega-corporation like GE, which is tied to funding anti-climate change white papers from right-wing propaganda tanks, has decided to cut the only environmental newsmagazine show. Forecast Earth was allowing laypersons access to critical information. At this time, more than any other, Americans need that information.
On the other hand, more information sources are available to Americans than any time before. If the corporate gatekeepers decide to remove sources from us, we’ll go get it by some other means.
I won’t say much about the millions of dollars wasted on every show NBC makes that is of poor quality. It’s their money to waste, not mine.
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