Controversial TV reporter John Stossel has a passion for science, liberty and pickup volleyball games.N.Y. Post: Michael NorciaJohn Stossel, the in-your-face muckraker who’s been both lauded and lambasted for confronting political and social issues, says the most important thing is that people are watching his TV specials.
“I just try to be fair,” Stossel told The Post. “Everybody has critics, but at least they’re watching.”
Stossel, 54, well-known for his outdated mustache and libertarian reports, has been no stranger to controversy – and this week was no exception.
His most recent ABC special, “Tampering with Nature,” a report on environmentalism, scored a bonanza Friday night with a 6.2 rating, second only in the time period to “Law and Order.”
The ratings victory comes days after a group of California parents alleged they were duped into allowing their kids to be interviewed by Stossel and that he manipulated the youngsters into giving answers that supported his viewpoint.
Stossel doesn’t take criticism easily. He rejects insinuations that he’s anti-environment and pro-business.
“I ride my bike to work – what’s more environmental than that?” he said. “As far as everything else, I have a lot of critics, but some of their criticisms have been distorted.”
Although he’s a pit bull when dealing with issues, Stossel rarely tackles anything in his personal life aggressively, except beach volleyball.
He lives for pickup games in Central Park and will make the trip from his Upper West Side apartment for a game.
As far as personal activism goes, he says he once politely complained to his children’s private-school principal about the amount of homework his kids were getting.
Underneath the hype of investigative TV journalism, Stossel admits he’s fairly private and not always the arrogant and brash investigative reporter.
“When there’s something worth reporting, I step up, but I’m not normally confrontational,” he said.