While the piece notes that advertisers “see weather as a relatively uncontroversial port in the squall,” this simply has not proven to be the case at Fox. As we have previously noted, insurance companies that have publicly “acknowledged the severe threat of both COVID-19 and the climate crisis” have sponsored Fox’s misleading coverage on both of these issues. But quotes like Wieser’s show that such misleading coverage is already starting to shift the calculus of advertisers.
Obviously, not every weather event has ties to the climate crisis -- but many do. And the record heat waves, record droughts, record forest fires, record hurricanes, and record flooding all have clear connections to the climate crisis. But Fox News repeatedly ignores or outright denies those connections in favor of dumb political attacks.
It’s not just the opinion shows at Fox News that deny the reality of climate change. The “hard news” side -- and especially chief political anchor Bret Baier -- has a horrible record on climate change coverage, one that continues to this day. When former President Donald Trump outright lied about Hurricane Dorian, using a Sharpie to manufacture a threat to Alabama, not only did prime-time host Sean Hannity defend him, but Fox’s Howard Kurtz attacked the media for covering Trump’s comments.
