He looks so pensive, doesn’t he? Photo courtesy of BruceFinley.com
Last month, we covered an unusual article written by Denver Post environmental reporter Bruce Finley that failed to disclose the radical environmentalist ties its source. In that article, Dr. Mitchell Gershten was just portrayed as a small town doctor, when, in fact, he is also an experienced environmental activist with a particular ax to grind with the state’s oil and gas industry. Based on Finley’s long career in journalism and the editorial standards at the state’s most influential newspaper, we thought that this instance was an outlier. Unfortunately, it is not.
Below are just a few examples of Bruce Finley enlisting environmental activists as sources for his stories, and painting these individuals as just ordinary citizens. There an numerous other examples from the Denver Post that are not included here, but will be in subsequent posts.
In this March 2013 Denver Post story about seismic monitoring, Finley sought out Kim Smith for the article, simply calling her an “intensive care nurse and mother of three.” In reality? Kim Smith is an environmental activist who had a letter to the editor of the Denver Post on fracking published online last year, and called for a moratorium on fracking in Arapahoe County as early as 2011.
In another March 2013 Denver Post story about exploration in the vicinity of Colorado Springs, Finley sought out the sage advice of Dave Gardner of the Colorado Springs Citizens for Community Rights. The story gives no background information on Dave Gardner or the Colorado Springs Citizens for Community Rights. The Colorado Springs Citizens for Community Rights is a single-issue advocacy group focused solely on eliminating fracking in Colorado Springs. This radical group issued a press release last year for an event titled “Bring Your Own Gas Mask.” Even a cursory investigation of this group would uncover that their website is FrackFreeSprings.org. Just days before Finley quoted Gardner in the Denver Post, the biased source for Finley’s article penned this opinion piece for the Colorado Springs Gazette. Gardner is even working on an anti-growth environmentalist documentary, yet Finley doesn’t even offer a hint that Gardner is an extremely biased source for Finley’s article.
In a January 2013 Denver Post article about setbacks from homes, Finley tracked down Thomas Thompson for multiple dramatic quotes in his article, who Finley simply identified simply as a “Rifle-area resident.” WRONG. Thomson is a hard-core activist who hosts “Fracking Ground Zero Tours” and blogs “Voices from the Gaspatch.” Thompson is even involved in a lawsuit against Encana, an obvious conflict that any unbiased journalist should have disclosed.
These are just a few instances. There are numerous other instances of this biased reporter using his position at the Denver Post to advance an anti-oil and gas agenda by portraying hard-core environmental activists as unbiased sources for his articles. These are just a few. In the coming days, we will expose more of these bizarre and allegedly unbiased sources. Stay tuned.
Vance Silvia, Citing API and IPAMS hardly qualify as 'fact.'
Vance Silvia That was in December. The Thompson's have since settled with Encana and moved out of state. My proof is the fact that they no longer live here and Encana now owns their property. All he ever advocated for was the surface rights to his property. During the COGCC hearings in January, Thompson testified as a homeowner not as a member or on behalf of any environmental organization.
i wonder if they would deliver just the comics to me?
When will we get real news again? Unbiased? Both points of view? I remember when we were challenged to think for ourselves, and had the ability to Decide for Ourselves! I'm sooo tired of being HERDED into the Corral of Political Correctness!
ac·tiv·ist [ak-tuh-vist] Show IPA
noun
1.
an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause, especially a political cause. (like Fracking)
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to activism or activists: an activist organization for environmental concern.
3.
advocating or opposing a cause or issue vigorously, especially a political cause: "Activist opponents of Fracking hold public meetings."
Peggy, what proof do you have to back up your statements? CPP backs up their accusations with PROOF and FACT, you simply state " Mr. Thompson is anything but a hard-core activist. He is a good and decent man who simply wanted to live out his life in the retirement home he built in the mtns of western Colorado" What proof do you have to back that up? I hold up proof from your blog (From the Styx) Here is the direct copy and paste from your blog: "Guest post by Thomas Thompson, Rifle landowner. Thomas is holding a public meeting, “Life in the Gasfields” on Thursday, December 13, at 1:00 p.m. In Part 1, Thomas shares with us an overview of what life is like as a surface rights owner in the middle of the gas patch. " Sounds like and activist to me!! So what proof do you offer to show that Mr. Thompson IS NOT an Activist?
I stopped taking the Denver Post about a year ago due to this type of reporting. I doubt they care but they keep calling to get me to retake the Post. The last time they said how about if we just deliver the adds for free to you doorstep. I said no! that would give you an income stream. You cannot chenge until you are forced to change.
I hope more like me force the change!
A few corrections: From the Styx is my blog. Voices from the Gaspatch is my series on my blog. Thomas Thompson settled his lawsuit with Encana out of court. He and his wife have moved away from their beautiful home on Porcupine Creek and CO. Mr. Thompson is anything but a hard-core activist. He is a good and decent man who simply wanted to live out his life in the retirement home he built in the mtns of western Colorado. Encana took that dream away from him.