Networks Think Inflation
is Important Only When Its Rising
Signs that consumer prices are under
control get ignored or downplayed.
By Noel Sheppard
Business & Media Institute
June 16, 2006
The three broadcast networks have focused growing
attention on inflation recently 42 stories since early May. CBS
anchor Bob Schieffer declared on June 14 Well, it is back,
inflation, that is. The following day, ABCs Bill Ritter cautioned,
everything from mowing the lawn to joining a gym could cost you
more money.
Yet, when positive inflation news was announced just
hours later by the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, ABC didnt
even bother reporting it on its evening news program. Meanwhile, the
other two broadcast networks paid inflation relatively little notice
compared to their other stories that night.
On June 15, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke told Chicagos
Economic Club that higher energy costs havent had a big impact on
other prices, and there are even signs that such pressures may be
waning. The stock market exploded on the announcement with the Dow
Jones Industrial Average rising by almost 200 points, or 1.83
percent its best one day showing since April 2005.
Rather than welcome the news after focusing on the
evils of inflation, the networks paid little attention. ABCs World
News Tonight didnt even report Bernankes statement about
inflation. This was particularly odd as Good Morning America just
hours a few earlier did a rather lengthy segment on the issue.
GMAs Ritter began with a gloomy introduction: The
report by the government on inflation, it is on the rise and that
means everything from mowing the lawn to joining a gym could cost
you more money. As if that wasnt enough, Ritter added this
negative claim: Just as prices are rising, the economy may be
losing some steam.
With a graphic on the screen asking, Is Inflation
Killing The Economy? reporter Betsy Stark went even further:
Americans are feeling anxious about the economy this morning and
they have plenty of reason to worry. Gas prices are stuck near
record highs, the housing market is cooling off, interest rates are
up, stocks are in a slump, and now, prices for just about everything
are going up. Mercilessly, she didnt end there: The latest
government report on inflation shows Americans spending more to pay
the rent, stay in a hotel, join a gym, put the kids in day care, dry
clean a suit, even get the lawn mowed.
World News Tonight didnt feel it necessary to follow
that downbeat story with the good news about inflation. Yet, they
did have time to do a major piece on a successful operation
involving two conjoined twins, as well as one story about a female
bowler.
NBC was almost as bad. On Wednesdays Nightly News,
Anne Thompson began her report talking about inflations impact.
Once again the high price of gasoline is fueling inflation, up
almost 5 percent in May and spilling over to other parts of the
economy, pushing up airfares, trucking costs and delivery prices,
she said.
Thompson tugged at the heartstrings by showing
inflations harm to regular folks: Economists say it's also
changing consumers behavior, as Americans look for small ways to
get more from their dollars without drastically changing their
lifestyles. She then brought in a real person to drive the point
home. Coupons are the answer for Christine Napolitani-DeBiasi.
She's noticed jumps in children's clothing and some grocery items,
said Thompson. Napolitani-DeBiasi responded: I had to give up going
to see my daughter and granddaughter out of state because I can't
afford to fly and I can't drive there.
Thompson was invited on to the Today show the
following morning to spread more gloom. This time, her heartstrings
tug was named Yvette Perez, a working mom with two jobs, juggling
children and grandchildren ... and a budget that is straining under
the pressure of inflation. Perez added, Gasoline, rent, light and
gas. It's hard to try to keep a family and a budget.
Yet, with all the grief NBC felt for Americans due to
inflation pressures real or imagined, all the Nightly News devoted
to Bernankes announcement just hours later was the following from
Campbell Brown:
Meanwhile the chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke had some news for the rest of us today on the high cost of energy. He said it isn't likely to change any time soon but he said the American economy can handle it as long as these prices dont rise even more. Bernankes message may have helped the stock market rally today.
Notice that the word inflation was absent from
Browns report. She didnt tell viewers that Bernanke said higher
energy costs hadnt had too much of an impact on other prices, and
might not.
The two previous horror stories about inflation totaled 880 words.
Yet, when the news was good in virtually the same day, all NBC could
muster were three measly sentences or just 61 words without even
using the word inflation.
The CBS Evening News devoted more than 100 words to
the Bernanke announcement as well as the stock markets reaction
Thursday. Anchor Bob Schieffer started the segment almost with a bit
of irony. We have been talking about the market and the fear of
inflation, and suddenly the stock market goes up today like a
skyrocket. Whats happened? he began.
Business Reporter Anthony Mason then told viewers about
Thursdays big rally, after which Schieffer asked, Does the Fed
chairman Ben Bernanke, did he have anything to do with this? Mason
answered: You can call it the Bernanke bounce today, Bob, because
he was speaking to the Economic Club in Chicago, and he said the
impact of higher energy prices appear to be manageable, and suddenly
it was off to the races at the markets.
Perhaps, the reason Schieffer was so shocked by the
news was due to the extraordinary amount of negative attention that
he and CBS had given to inflation and the markets recently. The
Evening News devoted two separate stories to inflation on June 14,
as did the following days Early Show.
The first of the two Evening News stories began with
Schieffer stating: Well, it is back, inflation, that is. It's been
more than a decade since it made this much news, but the new
government numbers leave no doubt prices are going up again. Mason
followed by emphasizing core inflation is the highest in more than
a decade.
He didnt explain whether a 3.8-percent inflation rate
is alarming. After all, inflation during the 80s averaged about 6.4
percent per year, and 10.3 percent in the 70s. Compare that to a
3.3 percent rate in the 90s, and our current rate of 3.8 percent
doesnt seem to be anything to get so concerned about.
But thats not what you would have heard on CBSs
Early Show Thursday morning just hours before the Fed chairman
spoke in Chicago. In one segment, Mason encored his report from the
previous night, followed later by Harry Smith who brought on a
senior financial analyst from Bankrate.com to further discuss the
perils of inflation.
All told, in less than 24 hours before Bernanke spoke
to the Economic Club, CBS ran four stories about inflation totaling
almost 2,000 words. That fits well into a network trend to dwell on
inflation.
The three broadcast networks have done 42 stories on
inflation since the last time the Federal Reserve met to discuss
that topic and interest rates on May 10. CBS News (including the
Early Show, and the Evening News) logged 18 separate reports
involving inflation and the concern that it is heading higher. This
was about 50 percent more the 13 reports done by NBC (Today and
Nightly News). By contrast, ABC (Good Morning America and World
News Tonight) did 11 reports.
Noel Sheppard is a contributing writer for the Business & Media
Institute, as well a contributing editor for the Media Research
Centers NewsBusters.org. He welcomes feedback at
nsheppard@costlogic.com.
