Rosen, Independence Institute's Oliver misled listeners on CSU funding for forecaster Gray

Summary: Amy Oliver of 1310 KFKA and Mike Rosen of Newsradio 850 KOA selectively read from a Houston Chronicle article to make misleading suggestions regarding Colorado State University's support for emeritus professor William Gray's annual hurricane forecasts.

Citing an April 28 Houston Chronicle article on their April 29 broadcasts, 1310 KFKA's Amy Oliver and Newsradio 850 KOA's Mike Rosen each made misleading statements regarding the report that Colorado State University had been considering ending support for the annual hurricane forecasts by professor emeritus of atmospheric science William Gray.

The Chronicle article (which was updated online April 29) reported that Gray is "a highly visible and sometimes acerbic skeptic of climate change" and that "last year ... CSU officials informed him that media relations would no longer promote his forecasts after 2008," while noting that "last week" CSU officials indicated that Gray's media relations support would continue.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, the overwhelming majority of scientists disagree with Gray's claim that rising global temperatures are part of "a natural cycle" and agree that climate change is caused primarily by human activity.

Colorado Media Matters also has noted that both Oliver and Rosen have repeatedly propagated distortions related to global warming.

On her April 29 broadcast, Oliver misrepresented the Chronicle article to suggest that CSU "is looking to pull the funding on" Gray and asked whether such a move could be related to Gray's purported consideration of global warming -- as Oliver put it -- as "a type of religion, brainwashing, that it's turned into a gigantic industry."

From the April 29 edition of 1310 KFKA's The Amy Oliver Show:

OLIVER: This goes to my friend David. This will be -- I'll dedicate this to David because it deals with higher education. Colorado State University in particular. Guess what? Our favorite hurricane forecaster, been doing it for almost 25 years. CSU is looking to pull the funding on Bill Gray. Could it be because Bill Gray considers global warming to be a -- well, a type of religion, brainwashing, that it's turned into a gigantic industry? And not only that, but he's criticized colleagues within his own department for their lemming attitudes, going over the cliff?

This is from the Houston Chronicle. "As he enters his 25th year of predicting hurricane [sic], Colorado State University officials say handling media inquiries related to Gray's forecasting requires too much time, and it detracts from efforts to promote other professors' work." Hmm. That begs a question: If he's getting that much media attention, why would you cut his funding? And in fact, why would you not be hiring somebody else? If they're getting publicity from Bill Gray's hurricane forecasts, why not hire another person to handle the media inquiries? That, my friends, is a flimsy excuse.

The Chronicle actually reported that CSU officials told Gray "last year" that "media relations would no longer promote his forecasts after 2008," but that "last week" CSU officials said that "they intend to support the release of Gray's forecasts":

By pioneering the science of seasonal hurricane forecasting and teaching 70 graduate students who now populate the National Hurricane Center and other research outposts, William Gray turned a city far from the stormy seas into a hurricane research mecca.

But now the institution in Fort Collins, Colo., where he has worked for nearly half a century, has told Gray it may end its support of his seasonal forecasting.

As he enters his 25th year of predicting hurricane season activity, Colorado State University officials say handling media inquiries related to Gray's forecasting requires too much time and detracts from efforts to promote other professors' work.

But Gray, a highly visible and sometimes acerbic skeptic of climate change, says that's a "flimsy excuse" for the real motivation -- a desire to push him aside because of his global warming criticism.

Among other comments, Gray has said global warming scientists are "brainwashing our children."

Now an emeritus professor, Gray declined to comment on the university's possible termination of promotional support.

But a memo he wrote last year, after CSU officials informed him that media relations would no longer promote his forecasts after 2008, reveals his views:

"This is obviously a flimsy excuse and seems to me to be a cover for the Department's capitulation to the desires of some (in their own interest) who want to reign (sic) in my global warming and global warming-hurricane criticisms," Gray wrote to Dick Johnson, head of CSU's Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and others.

The university may have moderated its stance since last year. Officials said late last week that they intend to support the release of Gray's forecasts as long as they continue to be co-authored by Phil Klotzbach, a former student of Gray's who earned his doctorate last summer, and as long as Klotzbach remains at CSU.

When Klotzbach leaves, he will either produce the seasonal forecasts at his new position, or end them altogether.

Not only does this internal dispute reveal a bit of acrimony at the end of Gray's long career at CSU; it highlights the politically charged atmosphere that surrounds global warming in the United States.

"Bill Gray has come under a lot of fire for his views," said Channel 11 meteorologist Neil Frank, a former director of the National Hurricane Center and a friend of Gray's. "If, indeed, this is happening, it would be really sad that Colorado State is trying to rein in Bill Gray."

CSU officials insist that is not the case.

The dean of the College of Engineering, which oversees atmospheric sciences, said she spoke with Gray about terminating media support for his forecasts solely because of the strain it placed on the college's sole media staffer.

"It really has nothing to do with his stand on global warming," said the dean, Sandra Woods. "He's a great faculty member. He's an institution at CSU."

Similarly, although Rosen read extensively from the Chronicle article, he omitted the paragraph that explained CSU intends to support the release of Gray's forecasts "as long as they continue to be co-authored by Phil Klotzbach, a former student of Gray's who earned his doctorate last summer, and as long as Klotzbach remains at CSU."

From the April 29 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Mike Rosen Show:

ROSEN: Just wanted to give you an example. This might explain at least in part why there is this bandwagon effect among academics who've hopped on the global warming hysteria bandwagon. Now, there are no doubt people who sincerely believe some of the doomsday forecasts. There are others for a variety of reasons, as I've explained before and as I wrote in my column last Friday, who have different political interests in pursuing global warming hysteria. But unquestionably, if you want money and support in higher education today, the money flows much more easily to you if you are on the global warming -- anthropogenic global warming, that is caused primarily or largely by human activity -- if you're on that bandwagon, the money comes more easily, and if you're not, if you're a dissenter, you can be punished for it.

And we have close to home the case -- the unfortunate case of Dr. William Gray. We've had Bill Gray on the program with us before. He's a highly regarded expert in hurricane forecasting. He pioneered the science. And right now, he has been teaching 70 graduate students who populate the National Hurricane Center -- actually, I don't know if they're all students of his, but they've been students of his at one time or another -- now populate the National Hurricane Center and other research outposts. William Gray -- this is a piece by Eric Berger in the Houston Chronicle -- William Gray turned a city far from the stormy seas into a hurricane research mecca. Of course, he's referring to Fort Collins. But now the institution in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he's worked -- CSU -- for nearly half a century, has told William Gray it may end its support of his seasonal forecasting. As he enters his 25th year of predicting hurricane season activity, CSU officials say handling media inquiries -- here's their lame explanation -- CSU officials say that handling media inquiries related to Gray's forecasting requires too much time and detracts from efforts to promote the work of other professors. Gray, who's highly visible and an outspoken critic of anthropogenic-caused global warming, says it's a flimsy excuse for the real motivation: a desire to push him aside because of his global warming criticism. Wrote a memo last year after CSU officials informed him that media relations at the school would no longer promote his forecasts after 2008. He said, quote, "This is obviously a flimsy excuse and seems to me to be a cover for the department's capitulation to the desires of some (in their own interest) who want to rein in my global warming and global warming-hurricane criticisms." He wrote this memo to Dick Johnson, head of CSU's Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and others. The university has said -- and this is through the dean of the College of Engineering, Sandra Woods -- she says, "Oh, no, no, it really has nothing to do with his stand on global warming. He's a great faculty member. He is an institution at CSU." The problem is that William Gray's forecasts require about 10 percent of the time a media support -- of the media support staff member, Emily Wilmsen, has available for the College of Engineering and its other 103 faculty members. According to Donald Wright, who's a professor of public relations at Boston University, he questioned why CSU would want to pull back its support for Gray now, after he has published his forecasts for a quarter of a century. Said Donald Wright, "It seems peculiar that this is happening now. Given the national reputation that these reports have, you'd think the university would want to continue to promote these forecasts. They get a big bang for the buck."

So you've heard CSU's explanation. It could be true, and it could be a diplomatically worded prevarication. That's a fancy word for lie. I don't know, I can't read their mind. If I had to guess, I would guess that it's a lie. And it's a shot across the bow to other academics who might be skeptics, dissidents, critics of global warming hysteria. It's a shot across the bow. They can then look to the example of William Gray and see how he was punished for being a skeptic. The handwriting is on the wall. Join the bandwagon. Unfortunate.

—B.J.M. & J.F.B.