Networks continue gas price hype

Gas Hysteria
Networks continue gas price hype
ABC does note the cause of the problem is that businesses cant build new refineries.

     The media continue to overplay the gas price story. TheBusiness & Media Institute takes a daily look at the best and worst of what the media have to offer. Today: $75 per barrel? And poor Los Angelinos learning how to walk. But ABCs World News Tonight deserves credit for its refinery story that showed how U.S. refinery capacity has fallen by 2.7 million barrels of oil a day. Even more, Betsy Stark showed clearly how massive environmental regulations prevent the construction of new refineries and keep gas prices high.

     Here are some of the latest high and low points:

No new refineries: Stark told how new refineries have been built in 30 years and explained the saga of one prospective refinery in the Arizona desert. Stark explained: Its taken five years to get the air quality permits. The site had to be moved from Phoenix to Yuma for environmental reasons. And after a decade of planning, they still haven't broken ground.

Not a record: First off, no matter how many times the media say gas prices are hitting new highs, dont believe them. They arent. The latest culprits include Bob Roberts of CBS Evening News

Out of the mouths of babes: CBS pulled out all the stops to hit viewers. Trish Regan even used a little baby to scream Gas is very expensive! almost incoherently.

$75 a barrel for oil?: CBS quoted a Deutsche Bank analyst who say we may be having a slowdown in the economy as we approach $75 a barrel oil. Regan didnt mention that the current price of oil is nearly $9 below that price at $66.25. Instead, she added. And if we're looking at $75 a barrel, things could get worse before they get better.

Get the price right: Regan thinks $2.55 (the average price per gallon in the U.S.) is a lot higher than it is and claims Even preschoolers can do the math when network reporters clearly cant. Regan explained: With prices hovering near $3.00 a gallon, consumers are still filling up those big tanks, but they're trying to tighten their belts elsewhere.

Walking, what a concept: CBS Evening News reporter Sandra Hughes bemoaned those who were driven to the unthinkable in Los Angeles mass transit. She ended her piece feeling bad for people who were doing something most in Los Angeles wouldnt have considered until now walking.

Support for the war?: NBC Nightly News went to Republican stronghold of Concordia, Kansas to ask them about support for the war. Somehow, Carl Quintinilla ended up mixing in gas prices, like the two issues are significantly related. And they arent. Quintinilla began: Even before sunrise in Concordia, Kansas, the coffee's hot. So are the gripes about gas prices. After a comment from a diner patron about the cost of fuel, Quintinilla jumped right into the talk of the war: But support for the war is rarely questioned.

Pain at the pump: NBC continued its series with a piece on hybrid cars, poking holes in the theory that they are that much better than other cars. Anne Thompson said also the technology is expensive, adding $3,000 to almost $12,000 to the price. Automotive consumer Web site www.edmunds.com said, according to Thompson, only the Prius saved the buyer money after five years, just $81 over a conventional Camry.

Its an average: Good Morning Americas Charles Gibson emphasized the high end of the average gas price with this remark: And we're going to turn next to a segment that we might as well call you think you got it bad, we'll talk about skyrocketing gas price. The average price $2.50. Some places well over $3. Gibson could note that if gas is well over $3 some places, it is well below the national average of $2.55 in others.

And in Europe: At least GMA told how government gone wild can boost gas prices. ABCs Jim Sciutto explained that In Europe a trip to the gas station can feel like a shopping spree that can cost a family of four with two cars about $800 a month. The reason? High taxes which in europe account for as much as two-thirds of the price of a gallon, explained Sciutto.