Press Release Journalism

Originally posted at UNCoRRELATED

Yesterday my local paper, The Deseret News, proclaimed ‘Utah ranks 36th in the Conversion of Private Property in the State – but study finds that the West is making gains’. I wouldn’t be surprised one day to see a headline, ‘Utah – 36th in Homicides but Making Gains!’ if there happened to be a satanic cult issuing press releases.

Critical thinking is becoming a lost art in journalism. In my last post I noted reporters need to be aware of dubious information. I’ve noticed the DesNews does a lot of press release reporting without taking much effort on background; for instance I lambasted a reporter here for her lack of inquiry about a so-called “former Star Wars director”.

Now the information in Nicole Warburton’s article is not necessarily dubious but it is presented uncritically. The “study” cited is actually an advocacy piece from the Land Trust Alliance, a conservation group. The focus of the study is the amount of private lands set aside for conservation. That’s fine, that’s what the LTA is all about. But shouldn’t the Deseret News provide some additional context for its readers about Utah lands already set-aside as National Parks, Monuments, and Wilderness areas? Instead they leave the impression that Utah is woefully behind in matters of conservation with their “36th” place LTA study finish. The article states:

About 324,415 acres of private land in Utah have been conserved through a land trust, conservation easement, or by other means, the study showed. That accounts for only 0.62 percent of state land.

A look at Wikipedia shows that the six Utah National parks and the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument comprise 2.74 million acres or about 5 percent of the state’s area. The state’s six National Forests, including the High Uintas Wilderness area, comprise another 9.28 million acres. Between National Parks, Monuments and Forests over 22 percent of the state of Utah is preserved. Another 40 percent of Utah is BLM managed.

So at least a whopping 62 percent of Utah is out of private hands, not .62 percent. This doesn’t count an additional 41 state parks, two national recreation areas, two large military test and training ranges, and Native American reservations. My question for DesNews is just how much private property is left in Utah to conserve and is this really an issue?

But who are the LTA’s top 10 conservation minded states in terms of land trusts?

• 
  California
  Massachusetts
  Connecticut
  Pennsylvania
  New York
  Maine
  Maryland
  Wisconsin
  Rhode Island
  Michigan

All blue states.

With the exception of California and Wisconsin, all the states are in the Eastern Time Zone. The Mountain Time Zone, with the great national parks of Yellowstone, Tetons, Grand Canyon, Glacier, etc. are missing. The amount of Utah lands I’ve already determined to be out of private hands would equate to 89 percent of the combined areas of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island. DesNews could have provided some context by telling us what percentage of land in the top 10 LTA states is not in private hands. Other than California, I’m willing to bet a lot less than 62 percent.

And if you think that pile of blue states leading the LTA list is a coincidence, read this Wall Street Journal piece about Monterey County in California:

Yet amid this land of plenty, there is squalor. Virtually beside the fields, in the city of Salinas, neighborhoods rival high-rise-jammed cities in population density. Multiple families occupy small houses; others live in converted garages. Gang graffiti mars the façades of apartment complexes. A school's walls are riddled with bullet holes. Fueling Salinas's troubles, many say, is a housing market that offers few affordable dwellings for the thousands of Hispanic immigrants who pick the area's crops.

Squalor in the liberal land of Carmel-by- the Sea? But why? Here is a clue:

Monterey County is torn by competing priorities. On one side are farmers, developers and immigrant advocates, who want to see more housing built. On the other are environmentalists and residents, including those in the upscale coastal towns, who want to preserve open space and their quality of life. As the two camps fail to reach a middle ground, low-income immigrants have borne most of the fallout: limited housing, with sky-high prices.

The WSJ article provides some additional context about the impact of LTA limosene liberal goals.

So back to press releases. They can offer a good start for an interesting story – provided the reporter takes some time to do a little research. As I've shown, there is more to this story then meets the eye. Otherwise, the reporter just becomes a sounding board for the latest advocacy group.