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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Joseph Romm: Shame on the New York Times for running ExxonMobil’s greenwashing ad once again — they can’t plead ignorance this time, only greed

Shame on the New York Times for running ExxonMobil’s greenwashing ad once again — they can’t plead ignorance this time, only greed

by Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, June 23rd, 2009

If I may paraphrase Sir Thomas More in the masterful A Man for All Seasons:

It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the world. But for ExxonMobil?

The NYT apparently thinks that the way to preserve its declining fortunes is by selling (what’s left of) its soul to ExxonMobil. As you can see here (clearer picture here, at least through today), the NYT is once again running an ad that its senior staff must know is false and misleading.

I debunked the ad here: The New York Times sells its integrity to ExxonMobil with front-page ad that falsely asserts “Today’s car has 95% fewer emissions than a car from 1970.” I know some at the NYT read CP and that emails have been sent to top reporters.

Also, the story has since been picked up by Media Matters (”ExxonMobil Exaggerates Emissions Reductions In NYT Ad“) and Fast Company (”Exxon’s Brazen Greenwashing, on the Front Page of The New York Times“), among others.

Ironically — or perhaps intentionally — ExxonMobil seems to be running this ad on Tuesdays, which is when the NYT runs “Science Times.”

Paper of Record, R.I.P.

Maybe it’s a waste of time, but please email the public editor at public@nytimes.com to explain you are “concerned about the paper’s journalistic integrity.”

Link to blog: http://climateprogress.org/2009/06/23/new-york-times-exxonmobils-dishonest-ad-once-again-they-cant-plead-ignorance-this-time-only-greed/

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