Reports on new nuclear plant leave key questions unasked

On February 16, ABC World News and NBC Nightly News aired incomplete and unbalanced reports following Barack Obama's announcement of $8 billion in new loan guarantees for a nuclear power plant in Georgia. ABC reporter Jake Tapper announced that "for years leading Democrats and liberals opposed nuclear energy. No new nukes was the cry. So some may have been surprised to hear President Obama say today, essentially, yes, new nukes." But after that nod, nuclear opponents mostly disappeared from the piece, which showed Tapper stressing industry claims about job creation for this new plant ("3,500 on-site construction jobs and 800 permanent operations jobs") and the amount of energy the plant will generate--enough "for 550,000 homes, 2,200 megawatts worth of electricity that would offset about 30 million barrels of oil." He also quoted two anonymous Georgia residents saying their town needs the jobs. One critic--Greenpeace's Jim Riccio--made a short comment about safety concerns, but was countered by Tapper: "Nuclear power advocates say since then plant design and equipment requirements have been upgraded." Tapper then quoted nuclear industry lobbyist Patrick Moore, introducing him with his past credentials: "Back then, he was an anti-nuclear power activist and a founder of Greenpeace. Today, he lobbies for nuclear energy." After Moore claimed that "nuclear industry is generally one of the safest industries we have," Tapper concluded that "he's not the only one who's changed his mind."