CNN’s Bill Weir talks to those “forced to live with fracking literally in their backyard” to cover environmental impacts of drilling

In the September 6 segment — airing just three days before the ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia, where the question of a fracking ban was raised again — Weir spoke to voters who favored fracking and a few of those who count among the “millions of Pennsylvanians opposed to fracking.” 

Weir went on to cite climate change as one of the reasons for the broader opposition but narrowed in on the health impacts of those who are “forced to live with fracking literally in their backyard.” Weir talked to local residents who are concerned about their children’s health and one whose water has been contaminated, noting a University of Pittsburgh study “found that children living within a mile of a fracking site had higher risk of lymphoma.”

“According to state records, fracking fluid has fouled or poisoned over 400 private wells and water supplies” in Pennsylvania, Weir added.

CNN host and Pennsylvania resident Michael Smerconish later told Anderson Cooper that fracking “receives outsized attention” from the media.

Smerconish continued, “I think it's a significant issue, but I think that there's a perception particularly from a national perspective looking into Pennsylvania, that it's a referendum on a particular candidacy, that it's a be-all and it’s an end-all, and I don't agree with that.” He added, “I'm in those Philly ‘burbs and there's nobody fracking here. So the attention always goes to those who are dependent upon the fracking industry. But where the race matters most, people are more concerned about the environment.”

After Harris’ August 29 CNN interview, when she was asked to clarify her position on fracking, Pennsylvania-based journalist Nick Field wrote, “I can not emphasize enough that - unless they happen to work in the fracking industry - Pennsylvanians don't care about fracking.”

Leading up to the presidential debate, other media figures provided important context about fracking in Pennsylvania

On the day of the debate, Politico published an article providing a number of key points including that the executive branch cannot ban fracking on state and private land where the vast majority of drilling is done in Pennsylvania. The piece also offered some insight into why fracking is not the hot button issue national outlets make it out to be:

Energy reporter David Roberts pointed out that not only have these jobs declined, but now the clean energy industry employs eight times more people than the gas industry in Pennsylvania.

Hey I don't want to distract you from the vital narrative-building on fracking in Pennsylvania, but ...

51% of energy jobs in PA are clean energy; clean energy employs 8X as many PA workers as gas; 78% (!) of PA residents want *more* clean energy.https://t.co/fD31V0idML

— David Roberts (@drvolts) September 10, 2024

Right-wing media have shaped the narrative around fracking and their mainstream counterparts have largely accepted the framing that fracking is a political litmus test for swing state voters despite evidence to the contrary. News outlets should follow the lead of journalists like Bill Weir and examine the documented harms that fracking does to communities and the climate and talk to actual residents rather than uncritically accepting the right-wing narrative.