Choosing Sides

There's big news today that will reinforce the hardening belief among many climate scientists and climate advocates that there is nothing constructive to be learned from climategate. That would be a huge mistake. Alas, perhaps the die is already cast. In the volatile climate change debate, journalism has come under increasing attack in the blogosphere since the Climategate story broke in late 2009. Call it the creeping Rommification of media criticism, in which individual journalists are harshly upbraided for their commentary or news coverage. Joe Romm, as anyone who has followed his blog knows, has practiced a highly personalized form of journalistic criticism. Over the years, Andy Revkin has been a frequent target of Romm's broadsides. I've long thought it curious that the scientists at Real Climate, an influential and well-respected lot, have never expressed public disapproval of Romm's behavior. Romm has an impressive grasp of climate science and he's plugged into beltway politics, but even his admirers, if they were given truth serum, would admit that his unrestrained attacks on well-meaning journalists further poisons the climate debate. Or maybe I've got that wrong and they would sooner admit that Romm's heavy-handed posts are necessary to keep journalists in line. I'm starting to think it's the latter, for the gang at Real Climate has practically leapt off the sidelines in recent months to single out journalists, such as Fred Pearce and Tom Yulsman, for what Gavin Schmidt has termed the "pathologies of media reporting" on climate change. Now I think it's perfectly acceptable for climate scientists to engage journalists in the blogosphere, and RC is way more polite and evenhanded than Romm. That said, of late I've noticed that they've been registering their approval and disapproval of media stories more frequently. But even in their approving appraisals, they can't help hurling a few digs, such as this one directed at Revkin: