Front Group Spokesman Gets a Pass on Democracy Now! [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
The usually-stellar Pacifica [3] news show "Democracy Now! [4]" is the latest in a long list of media outlets [5] that have quoted or featured Greenpeace [6] activist turned industry consultant Patrick Moore [7] on nuclear power issues, without disclosing that he's paid by the Nuclear Energy Institute [8] (NEI). When introducing Moore, host Amy Goodman [9] noted his past association with Greenpeace and simply said he "now serves as co-chair of the pro-nuclear Clean and Safe Energy Coalition [10]." The other guest during the segment, anti-nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman, briefly mentioned that Moore has "signed up with the nuclear power industry," but there was no follow-up or clarification on that point. As the Columbia Journalism Review pointed out back in 2006, "Part of [NEI's] thinking, surely, was that the press would peg" Moore and fellow NEI consultant Christine Todd Whitman [11] "as dedicated environmentalists who have turned into pro-nuke cheerleaders, rather than as paid spokespeople."