New from the Business & Media Institute
The Picture of Hype
How much is gas at your corner station? Tack on another 75 cents and
thats probably the price the networks will be showing on the screen. A
new Business & Media Institute analysis found four out of five images shown in
gas price stories were higher than the national average at the time up
to $3.25 higher. Its just the latest chapter in the televised gas
hysteria.
Media at Large: Networks Images Pump Up Gas Prices
Dan Gainor, the director of the Business & Media Institute, indicts the networks
for putting an additional scare tax on gasoline by showing stations with
extreme prices.
Got a
gripe? Seen something lately in the news that just wasnt right? Let
us know!
Scorn on the Bayou: the Political Economics of Katrina
Newsweek added its voice to the media chorus covering poverty in New
Orleans. But the article was based on faulty data. Economic reality shows
a different United States and a different Louisiana.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly tracks the best and worst media coverage of
business and economics. Readers are invited to submit suggestions or news
tips to Director
Dan Gainor.
This week: The New York Times shows businesses arent all bad; Lou
Dobbs reminds viewers that its good to open a history book; and
Newsweeks Jonathan Alter spins statistics about poverty.
Also from BMI:
NBC Adds to Storm of Climate Change Stories
Media Add to Celebrity Push for U.N. Aid Mandate
Research, News & Commentary
Hurricane Katrina
Commentary: Disasters like Katrina expose the federal budget as it really is and emphasize governments helpful functions over its wasteful aspects.
Commentary: Catos Alan Reynolds explains why an economic stimulus from hurricane rebuilding is an illusion; and, why higher energy prices dont mean higher inflation.
Research: A team of Heritage Foundation scholars addresses ways to make President Bushs Katrina recovery plans a reality.
Free Market
Commentary: James K. Glassman explains why extra taxes on oil companies profits wont do anything to calm angry gasoline consumers.
Research: Though the media refer to tax cuts as a cost to the government, repealing the tax cuts would actually cost America dearly in jobs and the overall economy.
Commentary: All eyes have been on China lately, but dont forget Japan its still the worlds second-largest economy.
Research: BMI Adviser Bruce Bartlett sums up the housing debate: if youre staying put for a few years, dont worry. But if youre buying for investment on the coasts, make sure youre prepared for a market dip.
Health Care
Commentary: Hollywoods The Constant Gardener is the latest attack on the pharmaceutical industry.
Poverty
Commentary: Theres no such thing as government charity.
Research: Its time for the IMF and the World Bank to reconsider the U.N.s Millennium Development Goals.
