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The Media and Environmental Issues

While reporters for the regional media like Newsday and the New York Times tend to see through the hype of Fire Island's commercial and landlord interests, the island press often seems to be effectively under the thumb of the latter.

Particularly notorious is The Pines Paper, which is associated with the Fire Island Pines Property Owners' Association. See our Backlash page.

The record of Fire Island Tide is uneven. On June 11, 1999, the Tide, which describes itself as "a major Business and Information Publication" carried a long article under the heading "Conflict on the Beach." Much attention is given to local grievances against the National Park Service (much of it in the form of personal attacks on park superintendent Constantine Dillon); very little concern is shown for the environmental imperatives that underlie the actions of the NPS. One would think that the writers might have consulted with Fire Island Ecology Coalition, and indeed they did, but hardly anything FIE chair Jim Seymour had to say about the environment appeared in the article. Instead, near the end of the piece he is quoted on a wholly extraneous matter unrelated to ecology (the falsity of a rumor that Dillon's enemies are circulating about him).

On the other hand, when island commercial and real estate interests are not threatened, Tide can do an excellent job. "The Environmental Impacts of Personal Watercraft" (July 9, 1999) by Jeffrey Kassner, for example, is well balanced.

The Fire Island News can also come through at times. Particularly to be commended is Marija Beqaj's informative article on immunocontraception of deer.

Updated 22 May 2003