NBC Reporter Taints Big Oil With Watergate Scandal
On Friday morning, NBC's Tom Costello couldn't close his Today show report on high gas prices without airing the proverbial soundbite from an angry gas station customer accusing oil companies of gouging the consumer. Costello even managed to taint Big Oil with the Watergate scandal, in his set-up for the perturbed gas pumper, as he pointed out one of the highest prices he found in Washington D.C. was "right in the shadow of the Watergate" adding, "customers across the country are increasingly suspicious of the oil companies."
(video and transcript after the jump)
The following Costello close was aired on the March 4 Today show:
TOM COSTELLO: Back east, you know the expression, "Location, location, location?"
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Today I made a bad decision about where to stop.
COSTELLO: That $4.55 gas is right in the shadow of the Watergate and customers across the country are increasingly suspicious of the oil companies.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They just use the, the opportunity, I think, to make more money.
COSTELLO: Well the oil companies insist that all these prices are being bid higher in the global markets because of the global demand. The United States consumes 20 million barrels of oil every single day. Half of that is imported. Matt, I've done a half a dozen of these stories this week and I get e-mails every single day, "You missed our neighborhood! The highest in the nation!" Okay, we're hearing $4.99 in Northern California. Back to you.
To read more about the media's bias on gas price coverage please check out the Business and Media Institute's latest study by Julia Seymour here.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
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Comments
In the real world -
Submitted by Ashrak on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 1:48pm.
People are sick and tired of the environmentalists, the progressive dogooders, the social justice activists, who have stopped this country from developing our own energy supplies and instead forced us into a form of foreign aid that is the purchase of oil from abroad.
The fact of the matter is that oil companies want to do more drilling, they want to increase supply and remove control over price from OPEC in doing so. Another fact of the matter is that it is BIG GOVERNMENT responsible for stopping them from doing so.
This time, the enviro weenies cannot blame Bush. They cannot not blame Obama now after 8 years of blaming the President. They can wish the rise is not going to continue, but Obama's policies have already rolled that snowball down the hill. The only way to melt it now is to release the permits, end the executive order bans, direct Departments and Agencies to get out of the way and see the Legislature reign in the courts so they cannot be used as stalling tactic tools.
Sarah was right.
Drill baby ,drill.
WTF?
Submitted by brutony1 on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:00pm.
What in the name of Sam Hill does this present gas price skyrocketing, which the lib media has been virtually SILENT on, have anything to do with Watergate? The MSM doesnt let ANY opportunity slide by without trying to rip into Bush, Reagan, and of course, their long time number one enemy Nixon!
When will liberals WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! -Me
I believe in competition
Submitted by Funbowhunter on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:17pm.
What happened when MaBell was broken up in the 80's?
Remember party lines, I don't mean what is being called a party line today. You know, when you picked up the DIAL phone and heard someone in a house down the street talking, and you had to wait for them to hang up to get a dial tone, or they listened in on your conversation?
Dial phones; 5 cent per minute local calls; 45 cent per minute long distance calls? Yeah, that was the way it was when there was no competition, after their breakup prices went down, they had to invest in technology to bring down prices to make profits, things got better.
NOW, we need to do the same thing to BIG OIL, I don't understand the corporatism that comes out of conservatives when BIG OIL is mentioned.
Before all of the consolidation of the oil companies, gas stations had different pricing at each station. You had a choice, however, when indepedents started building small refineries and building their own gas stations and charging much lower prices than the big boys, the big boys went to each of the state capitols and got bills passed that made the varying gas prices pretty much even, and the big boys did not lower their prices, but made the independents come up to their prices, they also started circulating stories about "cheap gas has water in it" to cause people not to go to the independent gas stations. It had it's effect and the independents either went out of business or had to sell to the big boys.
When stories of high gas prices come out, and big oil is looked at, the storyline is this, "We only make 2 cents per gallon!"
That is at most a half truth. If you google "Exxon owns oil fields", you will find they own many oil fields around the world, They own their own shipping company, they own refineries, so when they say they make 2 cents per gallon they are pulling the wool over your eyes. Yes refined product may be 2 cents per gallon, however, it makes most of it's money from oil they pump out of company owned oil fields and charging themselves for shipping it.
They charge the same price per barrel that the Arabs charge even though it is not costing them a 1/4 to produce for themselves.
I am very suprised that conservatives (I am ultra-conservative) are not up in arms about the government collusion between the oil companies and state governments. I am NOT into being a hypocrite. You who call yourself conservative, do you complain when Ethonol gets government help? Then complain when Big oil BUYS government help.
Remember what Governor Palin did? She told Exxon to either drill or the leases would be given up for auction again. Boy did they stop holding their leases for future use and started drilling pretty fast. If they were doing it in Alaska, don't you think they are playing the same game in all the other states?
I believe in truth, I also believe that God does not like unjust scales, and there are a lot of unjust scales in Big Oil prices.
Funbowhunter, you obviously
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:33pm.
Funbowhunter, you obviously do not pay attention to world events, the markets or have the slightest idea about how business works.
Lybia is in the process of disrupting oil supplies, price it bid up on the market side. Oil companies have to pay more for the oil to supply gas, gas goes up. We are short of refineries here in the US. We not only use 110 to 120 million barrells a day, we import some 60% of that. We also import refined gas. The shipping of this gas in not free. Even if you own your own shipping companies, it costs you to pay the crews to live on a bomb in the middle of the ocean. Not to mention the operating costs for a tanker in salt water. That my friend, is costly.
Set your ignorance aside on this matter and rest assured when Lybia is settled, IF the oil pipe line is still functional, prices will go down. If Obama would open up dirlling in the US, we could, infact, be a net exporter inside of 3 years. Prices for gas at the pump, if we build a few new refineries, would settle down around a buck, barring any increase in taxes on the fed side. Wake up and pour the kool-ade down the sink, dude.
At this moment there are no tankers in Lybia. Less oil=higher prices. When you liberals gonna learn that?
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
Not only just gas
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:58pm.
It's not only just gas that we get oil from but we make a ton of products that come from oil or more specifically petroleum. Think about all the plastic and etc in the items that we use day to day, without the oil, we wouldn't have many of these things, especially computers, cell phones, and so on and on.
Gas is not the only beneficial thing we get from oil.
-Jon
True jon, very true. There is
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:14pm.
True jon, very true. There is plastics, pvc, rubber like tires and wire insulation for homes and such, not to mention fuel for transporting and growing foods and grains. Corn is up almost 100% sence the introduction fo ethanol, and that is going higher. Electricty for charging your Chevy Volt and heating and cooling your home.
Food prices, fuel prices and most other products are affected by this, one way or another. Weather by transportation costs or a reduction in the ability to get the oil. This is criminal in nature. We have the resources, but with Obama, we cant use them.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
Go one step further
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:32pm.
You hit the nail on the head that this is criminal. But it's not just "we have the resources but with the Chairman, we can't use them" and add to the end "at the point of a gun" or some other thuggish Chicago tactic.
This is part of a deliberate act on the part of the dictator to reduce us to nothing in this country.
Yeah, libs, I said DICTATOR. Get used to it. You're under that same dictatorship too.
-Jon
jon
Submitted by well99 on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 6:25pm.
Even before the Messiah we have not been able to use many of our resources.The econuts would rather have us supporting terrorist than develope our own energy.Obama added to it but it has been going on for to long.Time to nail these yutts hides to the wall an get off energy dependence on other countries.
I know, well
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 7:21pm.
It started under Clinton when the use of our resources started getting reduced. On oil alone, before Clinton, we were importing about 30% oil from other countries, translation for the libs, that means we were producing about 70% of our own oil. After 8 years of Clinton, we are now producing maybe 30% or less and depending on 70% or more from foreign countries, as well as gasoline instead of making our own by building new refineries(which we haven't done in 35 years).
-Jon
Stop with the big oil talking points bub
Submitted by Funbowhunter on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:33pm.
I am NOT talking about world events here, I am talking about government collusion with big oil to put competition out of business, and now do not have any competition on what they charge. It would be nice to talk a=a with you, but you obviously do not understand that concept. When a business uses government to put their competitors out of business, there is a problem there. When they use half truths to hide what they are really doing, that would indicate they know what they are doing is not particularly above board.
Perhaps if you read my blog, which is not secret, you might understand that I am against government interference in any way and want Federal Government to be small. I do not like government giving subsidies to any private sector corporation or individual. I am vehemently opposed to elected officials who have broken the law making any decision on what health insurance I can buy. BUT YOU ARE WRONG. I really don't care how that makes you feel.
Big Oil is not doing YOU any favours by inflating their prices on YOU. They are pretty much in a monopoly situation and have so much power they are above the law since they can dictate what a future competitor can charge for their product. No competition is not free enterprise.
They own their own shipping companies:
http://www.manta.com/c/mtb68nl/conocophillips-shipping-llc
http://www.manta.com/c/mmq2j2m/exxon-shipping-co-inland
http://www.manta.com/c/mmq2j2m/exxon-shipping-co-inland
They own their oil fields (some with enemies of the US)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWSwqFgxpZAg&refer=uk-redirectoldpage
http://www.answers.com/topic/shell-oil-company
http://www.answers.com/topic/conocophillips
http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/about/worldwide_ops/country/europe/pages/uk.aspx
They own the refineries (do your own google search)
Anyway, again, you seem to be ignorant of the fact when a company controls government, it probably is not a good thing, and that is EXACTLY what Palin addressed in Alaska when she would not cow tow to Exxon and told them either drill or give up the leases.
Perhaps if you read what is written instead of using group think and big oil talking points you might not appear so ignorant.
Seems your fixated on
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 4:16pm.
Seems your fixated on divisions of large businesses. That in and of its self has no point in the discussion. It that was the criteria for a business controling a goverment, the we have to look at Carlise companies, many many divisions in that company. As large as Exxon. You addressed the price of oil and how it is controled by the Big Oil. Big Oil has compition, between conoco, shell, exxon, bp and others. The market price of oil is controlled by other market forces and world events in that corner of the world. All businesses, large and small and individuals have the right to address the goverment, (witness Tea Party results). Your looking at this through the prisim of socialism. The goverment cant run a business. Witness GM. And you want Exxon broken up like AT&T? AT&T is now back where it was when it was broken up. The Bell's are now back in AT&T. There are no bells. There have always been little coop phone companies. When I was a kid, we had a coop phone company in the 50's. We had a party line, but for a little more we got a private line. As to your example earlier, it was one sided. Your view of the oil industury is the same. One sided.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
Re to funbowhunter: Charging the same price as Arabs
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 5:06pm.
What government regulations do you support that would restrict the owner of a commodity from charging whatever price the market will allow?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Obama will use this to nationalize "Big Oil"
Submitted by gopcongress on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:17pm.
I think Obama is going to use this to try to nationalize Big Oil through executive branch fiat. It will be interesting to see how the State run media handles this.
"The news and truth are not the same thing." -Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
Nationalize has been the plan*
Submitted by cajun2 on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:58pm.
I have posted information and links regarding this Administrations back door efforts to destroy the energy industry for over a year. The BP spill was just an excuse to further their agenda.
First consider that the spill could have been minimized .
Secondly, The very thing that the administration should have done was refused. This significant actions was left out of the final investigative report.
Third, meanwhile, back at the ranch, while the administration is over regulating, deceiving, and delaying, even in disobeyance of a federal judge, the wizard is busy doing his part.
They are not allowing mining and processing of coal and Salazar admits this at a recent committe hearing. Still only one permit for offshore drilling has been allowed in defiance of a federal Judge's orders. They are over regulating the oil refineries, demanding increases in ethanol production. Coal, oil, natural gas are all the core of energy resources in this country. This summer will be telling. Rolling blackouts in the heat will take its toll, rising gas prices will cause more layoffs, and higher cost for transporting for food producers leading to higher food prices. Its all connected,its all being destroyed, bit by bit, deliberately by this administration.
Tinfoil hat firmly in place.
cajun,
Submitted by Ashrak on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 5:50pm.
I believe that oil rig was sabatoged intentionally ::cough: terrorism :cough: and was scuttled to hide that evidence. Interestingly, there was no huge investigation into figuring out just what happened in the first place......
Kinda like the 2008 manufactured electronic run on banks, this terrorism too was washed over and shushed.
I don't think tinfoil hats cover it anymore. I think a tinfoil hat is required in order to deny that destruction is the "fundamental transformation" we are enduring at this time. It is gonna get worse before it gets better,imho.
Speaking of " TAINT ", Barack
Submitted by Miss_Me_Yet on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 4:44pm.
Speaking of " TAINT ", Barack Obama's sleezy, greasy ( oily ) corrupt, back room illicit money grabbing dealings with the likes of his now A____ buddy in our White House, former GE / Obama outside vendor media propaganda czar, Jeff Imelt, to destoy, any way possible our domestic oil, gas, coal industry. Their plan included sabotaging every currently accepted energy source, in the hopes of convincing the American people to allow Imelt supply tens of thousands of GE manufactured wind turbines & technology to save the day, country and planet.
What's next with this president, a nuclear plant meltdown maybe?
Seems as though we've got ourselves a domestic terrorist cell operating directly out of the the White House. Afterall Obama's own covert ops unit ( secretive czars ) are sneaking in & out through cellar doors in the middle of the night. Has anyone here ever seen one of them? In person I mean.
As far as I am concerned, this president sold this country down the river, lowered our defenses and most likely caused another bigger and longer resession, all so he and his GE / corrupt union cronies could all personally profit.
Hopefully this latest assault by this president on the sovereignty of this nation, finally becomes his Waterloo. A cat is only suppose to have nine lives, this cat has already, in two short years, blown through at least twelve of them. Enough is enough already.
Still within the entire MSM concerning Obama's hand in our continued suffering as a nation....mums the word.
Liberals ... we can't live with them, they couldn't survive without us ...
Costello's statment - corrected.. on gas prices
Submitted by Gary Hall on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:50pm.
Costello's statment - corrected.. on gas prices
COSTELLO: Well the oil companies insist that all these prices are being bid higher in the global markets because of the global demand. The United States consumes 20 million barrels of oil every single day. Half of that is imported. Matt, I've done a half a dozen of these stories this week and..
.. unlike during the Bush years, I've not blamed the President, nor called for committee investigations, a single time.
(;~/ gary
Over-Under
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 5:10pm.
What's the over-under on how many days until Bill O'Reily hops on his populist horse and starts railing against "Big Oil"?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
The founding wisdom.
Submitted by Ashrak on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 6:00pm.
Our Founders knew how to avoid big money exerting pressure on government to the point of undue influence. They limited government authority by its very form. If government didn't have the power, the authority, to influence in the first place, big money wouldn't matter.
Attacking "big oil" is a duck mission. The same with big pharma and big this that or the other.
Restoring the Constitution, putting government back in the box where it belongs, is the answer.