CNN Accused of Fabricating Controversy in Missouri Evolution Story

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/122004a.asp
(AgapePress) – CNN is being asked to recant a story about a bill in the Missouri legislature that would allow teachers to be fired for not teaching alternatives to the theory of evolution, such as the Intelligent Design theory.

Recently on the program CNN Sunday Morning, correspondent Denise Belgrave stated that nine states were grappling with the debate over how evolution should or should not be taught in public schools. In the story, Belgrave encouraged viewers to “imagine a law that would fire teachers who refused to teach alternatives to evolution theory, alternatives that have not yet been widely accepted by the scientific community. That’s what Missouri’s considering, but Missouri isn’t alone.”

CNN’s viewers were then shown a U.S. map highlighting nine states as places where measures similar to that described in Missouri were under consideration. The CNN reporter identified “intelligent design” as the main alternative to evolution theory. Intelligent design, which some say reflects aspects of the biblical account of creation, proposes than some features of the world were created as the result of an intelligent cause instead of natural selection, a component of the evolution theory.

The problem is that even though a bill was introduced in January in Missouri that would have penalized teachers for not teaching an evolution alternative, the measure was later revised and the teacher penalty was eliminated. In addition, the revised bill is no longer under active consideration by the Missouri Legislature, according to the bill’s sponsor.

Dr. John West with the Seattle-based Discovery Institute says the whole report filed by Belgrave was false and amounted to “shoddy journalism.”

“Denise Belgrave apparently got some information from a pro-evolution group and simply parroted it; she apparently didn’t try to verify it herself. I was interviewed for the report and actually appeared briefly on screen, and the amazing thing to me is that she didn’t even ever ask me about the Missouri bill — or even about the subject of teachers being fired for not teaching alternatives to evolution. Even though that turned out to be what her whole report was about.”

West notes that none of the nine states identified by CNN as considering such legislation are, in fact, doing so. The Institute spokesman also points out that CNN dropped the ball on another story, this one not fabricated.

“The really ironic thing here is that not only this story false, but CNN misses the real story — which is that there is a problem about freedom of teachers, and teachers are being intimidated,” he says. “It’s not the teachers who teach evolution who are being intimidated, it’s the teacher who try to teach scientific criticisms of evolution. In a number of cases they have lost their jobs already, or they have faced other penalties.”

Belgrave would not comment on the accuracy of her report for this story. But CNN spokeswoman Megan Mahoney says West’s allegations are “without merit,” and claims the network “has no agenda on this or any other story” it reports. “Any suggestion to the contrary is just plan wrong,” she says.