PressEthic

A Salon news piece documents another incidence of the Bush administration manipulating government officials as agents of its public agenda. In this case, scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) were subjected to message control efforts by the White House.

Two White House agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, have actively restricted what scientists at NOAA and NHC are permitted to say to reporters about the link between global climate change and stronger storms.

In April, the National Review documented the White House reaching out to agencies as far as NASA to control what is said to the press about global warming. More recently, emails were released that inform scientists of whether they are permitted to participate in interviews about global warming with outlets such as the Washington Post, CNBC, and PBS. The emails specifically state that permission or refusal comes from either the Council on Environmental Quality or the Office of Science and Technology Policy, two White House agencies.

At the time, Bush administration officials denied that they did any micromanaging of media requests for interviews. But a large batch of e-mails obtained by Salon through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that the White House was, in fact, controlling access to scientists and vetting reporters.

The emails include requests for scientists that toe the line to participate in interviews and criticize others for publicly linking global climate change to increased hurricane and storm frequency and intensity.

The press is a direct link between government research agencies and the taxpayers on whose behalf they purportedly work. It is indeed unfortunate when Americans' access to such information is obscured by ideology.