The BBC Is Fighting Its Addiction To False Climate Change Balance

BBC journalists are being told to stop giving so much time to guests who deny that climate change is happening.

The broadcasting giant has been harshly criticized in the past for its continual habit of setting up a debate about the science behind climate change. Last Thursday, the BBC's regulator, the BBC Trust, issued a report about the corporation's broader science coverage.

The Trust said there was still an "'over-rigid application of editorial guidelines on impartiality’ which sought to give the ‘other side’ of the argument, even if that viewpoint was widely dismissed." But it noted that "nearly 200 senior staff have attended workshops which set out that impartiality in science coverage does not simply lie in reflecting a wide range of views, but depends on the varying degree of prominence (due weight) such views should be given."

The report mentioned climate change as a particularly big target for improvement.

There was no word from American networks as to whether or not they were going to institute the same kinds of practices — though, given their recent output on climate change, it would be wise not to hold your breath.

(h/t Think Progress)