Sensible people know there’s no more arguing about climate change: The planet is warming due to human activity. The only important question now is whether we plan to do anything about it. It will require, among other things, a massive shift away from burning oil, gas and coal, as Naomi Klein argues in her brilliant new book, 
This Changes Everything.

But it’s hard to build that kind of political momentum when the most important platform for discussing politics — the mass media — doesn’t think the future of the planet is a big story.

via Fracking: The Media’s New Climate Denial | BillMoyers.com.

Not so sure about “most important medium”, but it is no doubt a key element in popular opinion.  I see it at work amongst many smart people.  The media certainly needs to do a much better job of actually investigating what groups are saying is vitally important. But then there’s “the problem” of corporate ownership.  Sometimes we see this more oin what they DON’T cover than in their approach to what they DO cover.  The Climate and all the stories related to it are the perfect example.  What is given climate change is the occasional nod.

The beginning of Bill Maher’s show last week (before all the argument about Islam)  Maher says “The media often doesn’t cover the most important stories,  this was buried…and went on to talk about the rate of extinction of species in the last 40 years…and it was staggering;  it was HALF of wildlife…Steele said it would have been covered better if not for the ISIS and Ebola stuff,  and Bill says (and this is why I like him,  in contrast to his rants about religion and Islam)  ….he says “So the world needs to come to an end on a slow news day”.  Which is pretty much it.  Only I’m not so sure that there wont ALWAYS be SOMETHING that is deemed more newsworthy.

Then,  ironically, the whole discussion ON Maher’s show,  on queue from Bill who says “So let’;s move right on to the bullshit people care about”. And they do.  I don’t really blame Maher for that.  He had a script and guests and a plan,  so that’s fine  (and it was to be a very heated debate on what is a good and important subject – ISIS leading to a discussion by Bill and Sam Harris on Islam,  which Maher invariably blames on “Islam’s evil nature”)….but the fact that the climate and environment get a brief mention and then move on to other things,  is the pattern that has been established ACROSS the media.

In some cases,  certain issues,  like fracking, as this article points out, are squelched almost completely.