On Wednesday, Champion Tweeted back: "i kno what u refer to! there is quite a controversy surrounding the veracity of that stolen info...not reportable as such." [Grammar original to post.] Not reportable as such? Whether or not one likes the story, the scientists are not disputing that the hacked e-mails are real. And considering that one of the individuals accused of altering data also contributed to a UN panel on climate change, how is this story "not reportable?"
In an earlier response on Twitter, Champion seemed confused about whether his program had covered the subject: "hey scott..thot i did...we follow all climate stories...arnd the world..ev day...and report fact based claims."
On Thursday, the ABC weatherman replied to MRC intern Mike Sargent. On the subject of ClimateGate, Champion asserted, "WN did ur story last nite!" Indeed, World News did look into the subject on Wednesday. Reporter David Wright saw the scandal as an impediment to global warming legislation. He complained, "Just as the world seems finally poised to do something about global warming, an inconvenient scandal."
However, because some ABC programs (This Week also covered it) have reported on ClimateGate, doesn’t mean that Good Morning America gets a pass for ignoring the story, three weeks after it broke.
Champion has a long history of global warming alarmism. On January 31, 2007, he anchored a segment that hyperventilated, "Will Billions Die from Global Warming? New Details on Thirst and Hunger."
On February 8, 2008, a terrified Champion hyperbolically speculated, "And now to our series 'Global Warming: Global Warning.' Could global warming one day force us into space to live?"
For those interested in Tweeting Champion about his comments, he can be reached here.
UPDATE : 2009-12-10 16:45:05
Sam Champion responded to this article on Twitter: "wow, scott hope u get some readers off this sad stunt."
