CNNs Serwer Dismisses
Study Finding No Price Gouging
ABC and NBC briefly reported the story
without commentary.
By Ken Shepherd
Business & Media Institute
May 23, 2006
A
federal investigation
released to the public on May 22 found no systemic price gouging
in gasoline prices following Hurricane Katrina. Of the three
broadcast news networks, CBS ignored the issue in its May 22 evening
newscast.
The following morning, CNNs Andy Serwer reported the
news with derision for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) findings.
The government found only a smattering of price gouging when it
comes to gasoline after Hurricane Katrina, which may have some
people wondering exactly whats going on here, Serwer began his
7:30 a.m. Minding Your Business briefing.
While Nightly News guest anchor Campbell Brown
delivered a straightforward read on the FTC report, and World News
Tonight anchor Elizabeth Vargas said the report found only 15
isolated cases of unusual pricing, the CNN business contributor
weaved commentary into his reporting on the May 23 American
Morning.
Nine months it took them to produce a 200-page report, Serwer
marveled, adding that it just sort boggles the mind really that it
would take this long to come up with sort of a half-yes, half-no
conclusion.
Far from a half-yes, half-no conclusion, the FTC
report reported five major findings.
-
No evidence to suggest that refiners manipulated prices
through any means including diverting gasoline supplies to other
countries or deliberately running refineries at an artificially low
capacity
No evidence to suggest that refinery expansion decisions over
the past 20 years resulted from either unilateral or coordinated
attempts to manipulate prices.
No evidence to suggest that petroleum pipeline companies
manipulated business plans to game gas prices
No evidence to suggest that oil companies reduced inventory
to increase or manipulate prices
No situations that might allow one firm - or a small
collusive group - to manipulate gasoline futures prices by using
storage assets to restrict gasoline movements into New York Harbor,
the key delivery point for gasoline futures contracts.
In other words, Serwer was wrong. The FTC found no
conspiracy anywhere in the petroleum industry - from oil derrick to
gas pump - to artificially game gasoline prices.
The
Business & Media Institute (BMI) recently documented how network
news outlets have reported on congressional calls for price gouging
investigations. BMI also
documented the call by some in the media for higher gas prices, if need be to
be reached by
higher gas taxes.
Correction: We originally reported that ABC, like CBS, ignored the Federal Trade Commission report. In fact the report was given a 30-second mention by ABCs Elizabeth Vargas on the May 22 broadcast of World News Tonight. Vargas noted that of only 15 cases the FTC of unusual price hikes following Katrina, all but one were due to market pricing confusion.
