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Controversy Erupts Over Errors, Bias in Textbook

May 11, 2008

Controversy Erupts Over Errors, Bias in Textbook

News about the Matthew LaClair textbook controversy penetrated at least 250 media outlets, including The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Science Magazine, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, National Public Radio, The International Herald-Tribune (France), the U.K. Guardian, and CFI's Amherst-area CBS affiliate. Numerous localized stories, high-volume blogging, and media hits in U.S. markets wherever the book was used also fueled the controversy's momentum. Even The Weather Channel did a segment on it, citing its skewed view of global-warming evidence. Some prominent examples are linked below:

·      The Matthew LaClair/American Government controversy:

• Associated Press, with at least 160 immediate April 9 pick-ups by various media: Original AP posting
• International Herald Tribune, "Widely used government textbook under fire after high school student raises concerns," April 9, 2008.
• New Jersey Star-Ledger, "Teen's new fight: He sees conservative bias in text," April 9, 2008 (different version of AP story, with more LaClair background)
• The Chronicle of Higher Education, "Student Claims to Have Found a Textbook Case of Conservative Bias," April 9, 2008.
• Inside Higher Ed, "Quick Takes: Anti-Science Bias Seen in Political Science Textbook," April 9, 2008.
• Grist, "Is Our Textbooks Misleading?" April 9, 2008.
• Truthout, "Conservative Bias Alleged in Textbook," April 9, 2008.
• New York Times, "A Textbook Case of Downplaying Global Warming?" April 10, 2008.
• WIVB-TV Channel-2, Buffalo, "Is your textbook misleading?" April 10, 2008.
• KTAR.com, "Teacher Defends Controversial Government Textbook," April 10, 2008.
• Center for American Progress, The Progress Report, "A Textbook Case of Misinformation and Bias," April 14, 2008 (larger article focusing on what the report detailed).
• North Denver News, "Textbook ‘American Government' criticized for bias," April 14, 2008 (CFAP version).
• Science Magazine, "Newsmakers," Vol. 320, April 18, 2008.
• OneWorld.net, "Textbook Case of Climate Misinformation," April 18, 2008 (environmental focus by Friends of the Earth network).
• OneNewsNow.com, "Widely used public school textbook criticized for being too conservative," April 18, 2008 (Christian dissent from the American Family Association).
• OpEdNews.com, "No YouTube Left Behind," April 21, 2008 ("...the widely respected Center for Inquiry says...").
• Fargo In-Forum, "Moorhead students using disputed textbook," April 22, 2008.
• DeSoto Explorer, "Controversial AP textbook used in area schools," April 22, 2008.
• Los Angeles Times, "Give me the lesson without the spin," April 27, 2008 (LaClair's op-ed).
• Los Angeles Times, "Quit twisting my words," April 27, 2008 (Wilson defense op-ed).

 

***NOTE: The news coverage also prompted a response from the publisher to the New York Times article on its Dot Earth science section, a thorough critique of that response on thinkprogress.org, and a call by Friends of the Earth to sign a petition to the publisher to acknowledge the science behind global warming.