No Green on the TV Screen - Networks Short the Environment

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"Environmental coverage -- not counting natural disasters and weather -- dropped nearly to record low levels in 2005 on the three national broadcast networks' weekday nightly newscasts," according to a new study by Andrew Tyndall. Throughout 2005, the newscasts of ABC, CBS and NBC combined spent just 168 minutes on environmental news. Since 1988, the three networks have spent an average of two percent of their newscasts on environmental news and four percent on natural disasters. Another study, by the Pew Research Center, found that nearly half of U.S. residents spent at least 30 minutes a day watching TV newscasts. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they regularly watched local TV news, while 34 percent turn to cable TV news. News websites tend to be used "as a supplemental source," and the audience "is skewing older," with "fortysomethings" more likely than youths to read news websites, reported Reuters.