“NPR, maybe I shouldn’t be such a fan”

Oct 1
2009

Guest post by Jack Ramsden:

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I’m a big Tom Gjelten fan and a bigger National Public Radio (NPR) fan.
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But last week, I was troubled by their series on the new initiatives in natural gas drilling. There were three installments of a story by Tom Gjelten (09/22-23-24) and then an hour on the Diane Rehm Show on Wednesday, September 23. I listened to the Rehm Show and read the text on the three installments, plus a related story on “water worries” yesterday. This last story seemed to be an “oh yeah, but…” kind of a thing.
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Here’s the problem. A very distressed but articulate caller called in to the Diane Rehm Show and identified herself as “Victoria” from Dimock, PA. This was the day before PA DEP shut down gas drilling due to the three large spills, but after the spills happened and she referred to them in her call. The panel on the show had been talking about the good science and millions of successful wells and making me upset with every misleading statistic, so I was glad to hear from a resident of a drilling area.
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You know what Tom Gjelten called it? “Anecdotal evidence”! How can he have visited a drilling area, whether in PA, TX, or CO or where ever, and make all these statements about the science of hydro-fracking and then put off this woman’s statements as merely anecdotal? Did he talk to any residents that were at the grocery store buying their water? Did he drive on any of the roads that were literally pulverized by the huge trucks? Did he ask about anybody in the area that could set their tap water on fire out of the faucet?
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If this is the perspective that this reporter brings to this story, then maybe his other stories are suspect too.  Maybe I shouldn’t be such a fan.
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