Via NewsBusters Noel Sheppard:
Just how obvious is it that the media's economic and business coverage is so negatively skewed that it has to be part of a political agenda in an election year?
Obvious enough for the folks at Fox News to do an entire segment Saturday morning asking the extraordinary question: "Media ‘Talking Down' the Economy to Get a Dem Elected?"
Despite my surprise seeing "Cavuto on Business" begin with such a question framed at the bottom of the screen, I was almost enraptured by the comments from Neil's guests which not only included regular assertions that this is clearly about getting a Democrat in the White House, but also that media are "committing a crime against the general public" by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that will end up costing people their jobs in the long run.
More importantly, "if we have a serious recession, a great deal will lie at the media's feet."
Cavuto marvelously began the segment:
NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Well, is the economy slowing? Well, yeah it is. But call me crazy, is it as bad as this? This week, the Associated Press claiming Americans are being subjected to, and I quote "economic water torture." And then this little ditty item on the GDP, "The economy nearly sputtered out at the end of the year." We were up at the end of the year. Why someone here says this is all part of the media's plan to get a Democrat in the White House. Is it?...First to Ben Stein, and Ben, your reaction to this idea that we're going to hell in a hand-basket.
BEN STEIN: Well, the media has been selling us on fear and recession for months maybe years now. Even before there was and really seriously bad news they were selling, selling, selling fear. They have been shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theatre now for months, quarters, I'd say probably over a year. The actual economic conditions are not that bad. I think if we have a recession, if we have a serious recession, a great deal will lie at the media's feet. And I don't know why they're doing it. They're the ones that are going to lose their jobs.
CAVUTO: What do you think of that, that we are going into a slowdown - some would even say a recession - but to hear some in the media tell it, depression?
CHARLES PAYNE, WSTREET.COM: It's really, what the real problem is is that it's not fair to the public that they're supposedly serving. You know, when you stir things up, and I think Ben the analogy to yelling "FIRE" in a crowded movie theatre is absolutely perfect. I mean, when you say something like "water torture," it's not only, to me it just seems that they're taking a shot at the GOP on the economy, but also with the Iraq war and water-boarding. That's exactly what I thought of when I heard it. And, it's so transparent, and, but, the really sad thing is I think they're committing a crime against the general public when they do this.
There's more where that came from.
Was listening yesterday to a pretty good retirement planner on the radio, deals just with retirement investments. He was having an absolute fit about this very thing!
He was saying that now is some of the best times to do investing and it is the absolute worst time to be withdrawing. He was half crazy about the effects of the MSM's fear mongering on the economy.
Posted by: xtnyoda | Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 03:20 PM