We all get older. Even if we’re in good health, there comes a time to slow down and let others do the heavy lifting. Rupert Murdock is stepping down as chairman of his two companies. Great success came to him over his 92 years. Generally, achievement leads to plaudits at retirement, not for Murdock.

Rather than praising the longtime newsman, my morning paper, published by USA Today owner Gannett and the New York Times and Washington Post morning newsletters, depicted him as the destroyer of trustworthy journalism.

The Arizona Republic’s Media writer, Bill Goodykoontz, echoed a big part of the legacy media, saying, “Murdoch and his cronies have done incalculable damage to trust in the news. There are large groups of people who now believe a story only if they see it on Fox News. That’s where they can turn for a consistent stream of outrage. Because that’s what Murdoch and Fox News really specialize in — not reporting on stories so much as doubling down on the fear and anger that stroke Trump’s base.”

Murdock’s crown jewel, Fox News, filled a void in news and commentary from a more conservative point of view. It must have been an undeserved market because it became the most popular news channel. 

While Goodykoontz and other media critics, such as Washington Post’s Eric Wemple, decry Fox News for demolishing trust in the news, the channel’s news anchor Brett Beir, this week interviewed Saudia Arabia’s de facto leader and the Israeli Premier, as those nations are on the verge on a cementing a historic relationship. Obviously, some world leaders find Fox journalists trustworthy.

On the other hand, the news outlets that suppressed the Hunter Biden Laptop story promoted the Russian Collusion and trashed those who turned out to be right on COVID policy, earning the public’s scorn they enjoy.

I finally got around to reading my latest Nature Conservancy Magazine. The organization has had my support for decades, ever since it took the lead in restoring the San Pedro River in my home state of Arizona. With hands-on acquiring and trading of properties, the organization achieved the miracle of restoring this marvelous Riparian area. Rather than just lobbying, they did the hard work. Imagine my shock finding the Conservancy is involved in building windmills in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

Still on our bucket list, the Valley is a top tourist attraction for wildlife safaris and migratory birds. The flights through the Valley feature flamingos, vultures, pelicans, and others high on birdwatcher lists. Windmills are known as mass bird killers. Putting them right in the path of essential migration routes is folly. One might expect important conservation groups to be up in arms. Still, the well-known Nature Conservancy promotes putting windmills in the best position to wack these magnificent birds.

How does the Conservancy justify its support? It will help set up observation towers for thirty-two people with binoculars to look for “priority species” like vultures. If they see any, they tell the windmill operators to turn off the ones in the birds’ path. What could go wrong? What if several flights arrive from different directions at the same time? What happens to the “lesser birds?

I tried to imagine putting these windmills by the San Pedro River. Birdwatchers and conservationists would be up in arms. But the elites say Africa needs clean energy more than birds. Getting rid of coal and wood used for power is worth a few million birds. 

What about the effect on the other animals? Can we be sure a mass of these towers won’t mess with their life patterns? Do we have a handle on this rush to windmills?

First, Maui, then Florida, and now Morroco disasters dominate the news. The media quickly linked the first two disasters to climate change. This analysis isn’t surprising; we link almost every crisis to climate change. However, connecting a 6.8 magnitude quake to climate change is a stretch.

Never fear; journalists can take courses and attend seminars at the “prestigious” Columbia Journalism School. According to the school’s website, “Columbia Journalism School has been training its students to become leading climate change reporters. With changes in the climate endangering lives, ecologies, and economies at global and local levels, the work of journalists is vital for effectively and accurately explaining the science and implications of climate change to the public.” 

If you are not enrolled, you can attend its seminars. A series is coming up, “Climate Changes Everything – Creating a Blueprint for Media Transformation,” to be held September 21 and 22, 2023. The tagline reads: “Join leading journalists from around the world for an unprecedented conversation about how to cover a world on fire.” With the proper training, almost anything can be tied to climate change. Maybe even earthquakes. If there is a way, they’ll find it.

 Have you wondered how the progressive media and politicians always seem on the same page? Academic and other elite gatherings are a great place to get everyone to align. They can discuss the latest scholarly papers at the gatherings, often appearing in prestigious journals. Of course, these have trained editors.

Those papers have to support your positions. No problem. Scientists and others know their papers have little or no chance of making it into “prestigious journals” unless they’re tailored to the views of progressive editors.

Patrick T. Brown tells us how he had to adjust his work to get it into a journal. Mr. Brown explains, “So why does the press focus so intently on climate change as the root cause? Perhaps for the same reasons I just did in an academic paper about wildfires in Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious journals: it fits a simple storyline that rewards the person telling it.”