News

Finally a mainstream media organization–and would you believe it is NPR?–is covering the glaring cases of viewpoint discrimination on America’s campuses, and even at the Smithsonian Institution. The report on contemporary abuses of academic freedom aired today on All Things Considered and in it NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty describes the way Eugenie Scott and the National Center for Science Education have organized attacks on scientists known to harbor sympathies for intelligent design and to doubt Darwinism.

On Tuesday the Kansas State Board of Education adopted new science standards. According to the Board, these new standards “call for students to learn about the best evidence for modern evolutionary theory, but also to learn about areas where scientists are raising scientific criticisms of the theory.” These standards do not require the teaching of intelligent design. That fact didn’t stop some major media outlets, including Bloomberg News and the Washington Post, from erroneously claiming otherwise. The Bloomberg story began: Kansas State Board Votes to Teach Intelligent Design in Schools Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — The Kansas State Board of Education approved a proposal to teach intelligent design along with evolution as a scientific explanation of how life began. The Washington Read More ›

In order to cash in on the nation’s current interest in the debate over evolution — thanks to Kansas’ adoption of new science standards and the Dover school board trial — this evening ABC’s World News Tonight strung together disparate clips and previous footage to once again spin out the old yarn that this is just a religious issue. Yawn. (If you’re still interested see our report on the original airing of this story back in September.) But, if you’re interested in seeing a report that truly delves into the issue — from both sides — check out CBS’s News Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. Here’s an objective report from a crew that took the issue seriously and rather than Read More ›