"A 60 Minutes segment claiming that federal government efforts to encourage clean tech -- the production and use of alternative energy sources and more efficient technology -- have failed drew some harsh disagreement among reporters covering the energy beat who say the negative report ignored many successes and focused too narrowly on a few unsuccessful companies."

"Correspondent Lesley Stahl concluded in the January 5 piece that while stimulus spending including the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program was invested in the industry, "instead of breakthroughs, the [clean tech] sector suffered a string of expensive tax-funded flops."

Stahl's segment has drawn criticism from observers who have noted that 60 Minutes focused on Solyndra and a handful of other failed companies whose loans made up a tiny fraction of federal loans and ignored the clean tech breakthroughs and the explosive growth in the sector that have occurred.

The report was only the latest in a series of 60 Minutes reports that have been subject to stinging critiques in recent months. The program has been excoriated by media observers and accused of 'check[ing] its journalistic skepticism at the door' by The New York Times."

Joe Strupp reports for Media Matters January 7, 2014. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"The Cleantech Crash" (CBS/60 Minutes) [3]

"’60 Minutes’ Does About-Face on Cleantech" (Silicon Beat) [4]

"60 Minutes Hit Job On Clean Energy Ignores The Facts" (Climate Progress) [5]

"What 60 Minutes Got Right And Wrong in Its Story on the 'Cleantech Crash'" (GigaOm) [6]

"What's The Matter With 60 Minutes?: Cleantech Edition" (Media Matters) [7]

"Troubled ’60 Minutes’ Imagines A Cleantech Crash" (Earth Techling) [8]

"The Fox 'News'-ification of CBS News and '60 Minutes': 'The Cleantech Crash'" (Bradblog) [9]

"60 Minutes’ ‘Cleantech Crash’ Segment Misses the Point, Critics Charge" (Grist) [10]

"Anatomy Of A Hit Job: Expert Featured On 60 Minutes Exposes How Show Knowingly Ignored Facts On Clean Energy" (Climate Progress) [11]

"“60 Minutes” Gets It Wrong Again: Cleantech Hit Job Doesn’t Check Out" (Salon) [12]

"60 Minutes Skewers ‘Cleantech’ Energy" (National Review) [13]

"60 Minutes Show On Cleantech Looks Like Its Going To Be “Dumb & Dumber Part 3" (Clean Technica) [14]

"Cleantech Crash or Crescendo: What “60 Minutes” Got Wrong… and Right" (Union of Concerned Scientists) [15]

"’60 Minutes’ Clean Tech Report Draws Criticism" (Morning Energy/Politico) [16]