CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi had an interesting question for viewers this morning.
Before telling viewers that consumer confidence is at the lowest level in two years, Velshi asked if the media have anything to do with it.
"Do you think we're feeding this thing? Do you think we're fueling this sort of misery?" asked Velshi on "American Morning" November 28.
A question for Newsbusters readers: How would you answer Velshi's question?
The Business & Media Institute has found that the media certainly don't reinforce the soundness of the economy when things are going well. BMI's "Bad News Bears" study that looked at one year of reporting, found that 62 percent of network (ABC, CBS, NBC) economic stories focused on negative news. Those stories were also given more airtime.
Other BMI research has shown that the media have emphasized the possibility of recession since the economic recovery began in August 2003.
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rolls eyes
November 28, 2007 - 11:18 ET by candanceSo now we've gone from having a slow economy to being downright miserable? The country is wallowing around in misery? I wonder if people in eastern Europe look at America and think, "Gosh those poor miserable people."
If our economy does turn toward a real recession they'll have no vocabulary left to describe it.
card holding member of the vast right-wing conspiracy
Common economy quick-sees
November 28, 2007 - 13:34 ET by ThisnThatI've done my own scientific poll, just by looking around. Here's what I see today:
Congested commuter traffic in the morning, in the evening -- indicating lots of people have jobs.
Expensive cars with recent-number license plates -- showing a lot of people have recently bought late-model cars -- or have recently moved into the state and registered their vehicles.
Full resteraunts. It's hard to get a seat anywhere, including on weekdays.
Full airplanes. I've never had to sit in so many full airplanes before. Someone's going somewhere -- frequently.
Cell phones and blackberrys. Everyone has one; and everyone is always talking on them during the day. I know how expensive these phone plans are, and wonder why I can't talk all the time during peak hours.
Cable plans. I have basic cable and internet. Everyone else has 42-inch TVs hooked up to expanded cable, on-demand, and digital TV. And two NetFlix movies every week on top of that.
So, I don't where the misery is coming from. Except that I am miserable driving a 14-year old station wagon with no GPS or Sirrus radio; eating last night's leftover rice for lunch today; listening to Bill Clinton's complaints that he didn't get a chance to pay more for taxes to "support those troops" (NOTE: Not our troops -- those troops! You know -- the ones he loaths?)
Maybe I should complain to someone. Anyone at NB want to hear me whine? Please? Awwww, come one...... why not?
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
oxymoron
November 28, 2007 - 16:55 ET by johnGyour own scientific poll? hahahaha that's grand.
so you looked one state, one regional area, one person's views, one person's opinion, and make huge statements like "everyone has a blackberry," and that's scientific?!?!?!
did you give yourself a PhD this afternoon too?
I'm hoping the survey was
November 28, 2007 - 16:57 ET by JasonCI'm hoping the survey was meant as tongue-in-cheek. Casual observations through a filter of resentment don't mean diddly.
"He was, and is yet, most likely, the wearisomest, self-righteous
pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself
and fling the curses on his neighbors." -Emily Bronte
Phd
November 28, 2007 - 18:12 ET by ThisnThat"your own scientific poll? hahahaha that's grand."
Shhheeeeshhhh! Did I strike a sore point, or what?
And yes, for your and Leon's information, this was a scientific poll. It is on the same par as all the GW "mankind is at fault" studies; all the "Bush is to blame for everything" authoratative statements; the "war is lost" pronouncements; and the Clinton "I have vast experience" facts that everyone hears over and over again.
I'd say I'm at least half-as-smart as that Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, and yes -- I deserve a Phd. I want a Phd. And so I gotta git a Phd -- so I can keep diggin' those NB holes.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Liberalism
November 28, 2007 - 11:22 ET by iveseenitallThis is Liberal Economics 101. It's not what the facts are that count, it's all in how you "feel" about things. Liberal stink creeps into everything; the truth never matters to these ignoramuses. If the sky is blue today, a "liberal" will tell you it's green because that's how he "feels". Scheeze, these people are sickos.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
not an economist....
November 28, 2007 - 11:40 ET by johnGdo you know what consumer confidence index is? wikipedia it and you'll be amazed that it's not some liberal concoction.
also, no one judges the economy on how "we feel." CCI is merely one of many factors analysts look at to assess the health of the economy.
More than you think
November 28, 2007 - 12:26 ET by iveseenitallI know more than you may think about economics. But the truth is the truth about "liberals", whether you're deliberately blind to it or not.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
P.S. Wikipedia is being debunked as a reliable source for anything...look that up.
question
November 28, 2007 - 17:14 ET by johnGdefine "liberals" for me please.
and wiki is reliable up to a point. i personally question every source of information whether it be cnn, fox news, nyt, wiki, etc...
consumer confidence
November 28, 2007 - 12:50 ET by ArcherBFrom the Wiki page you recomended:
In other words, it's how people "feel" about the economy. That is exactly what CNN is using to measure the economy because all other indicators are up. When the stock market or other indicator goes down, the report it at the top and bottom of every hour, 24 hrs a day. When it goes up, they ignore it. So all CNN reports is bad news about the economy. Right now, consumer confidence is all they have so they report that it is down. Gee! I wonder how that happened.
CNN does when there is no other bad news to report. I think that is what we are talking about here.
If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. --George Orwell
read the whole wiki page...maybe you'll learn something!
November 28, 2007 - 16:56 ET by johnGfirst, you can look up consumer confidence on the conference board website too. the consumer board, an independent economic research group, has been generating and releasing CCI for over 20 years. it's not some touchy-feely number that doesn't really mean anything. it's a large scale economic survey done to judge the consumers' sediment. you sound silly trying to discredit CCI.
and if you're watching CNN for your business news then you're in a whole lot of trouble way before all this "bias." in fact all those channels(MSNBS, CNN, Fox Business, etc etc) never show anything important. want to know what's going on with the economy? read the WSJ, watch Bloomberg TV, and monitor economic indicators(perhaps CCI!!!!).
no matter how you slice it
November 28, 2007 - 18:55 ET by red_dragon311if the CCI is
"...a large scale economic survey done to judge the consumers' sediment."
it judges how people "feel" about the economy and it doesn't matter what else is said on the subject
and just because the MSM has headlines like
"Records numbers of people buy tons of crap on Blck friday despite 1929 style economy"
it doesn't make it so.....
you should know all about that
I don't get it. Every year,
November 28, 2007 - 11:41 ET by pwozI don't get it. Every year, I see more and more people with disposable income, whether it's the avid online shopper or the black friday guru. The economy is fine. The unemployment rate is 4.7%.. isn't that the same as under Clinton... and the MSM was praising him for that!
Perhaps if people were smart with their money and spending within their means, you would not have so much debt! I hate people.. ugh
Some people in the government
November 28, 2007 - 11:45 ET by sarcasmoAlso have problems spending within their means...
JMR
Rally online with fans of Dr. Ron Paul.
Consumer confidence experiment
November 28, 2007 - 11:49 ET by KC MulvilleWhy don't they measure it themselves? Should be a simple calculation.
If you really want to measure how much the media affects consumer confidence, track the relationship between consumer confidence and those three prices. If those prices rise and fall, confidence should match the rise and fall. However, if confidence matches the fall but not the rise, then you have a working statistic that measures the effect of the media.
Duh!
November 28, 2007 - 11:54 ET by c5thenThe media are overwhelmingly liberal (thanks to decades of indoctrination at the various schools of journalism). They feel it is their duty to hype and exaggerate any bad news when there is a Republican administration that can be blammed for it (rightly or wrongly).
They're not just fueling the misery, they are creating it themselves. Talking about the possibility of recession for almost 4 years in the midst of a pretty amazing and sustained growth period is not just "looking at the glass as half empty". The MSM are in effect saying that not only is the 3/4 full glass half empty, but it likely has a crack in it (because it used to be completely full) and the water might not be fit to drink anyway.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Fred08.com
It's like when I interned at
November 28, 2007 - 12:13 ET by pwozIt's like when I interned at a local news station.. tragedy/misery/bad sells, not good. People don't want to hear good things because then they cannot complain. The MSM gives them the opportunity to do so, but unfortunately, their griping has zero merit.
but they report positive when Dems in White House
November 28, 2007 - 13:15 ET by SouthJersey1953All of the "doom and gloom" bad news is only pushed when a Repub is in the White House. Even when the economy was heading South in the Clinton years, the MSM reported on it positively. As soon as Bush got in, what was good before, instantly turned bad.
The MSM has been making up 'bad' economic news for years, hoping it would turn sour so they could get the Dems back in control....
No RINOs in '08 - Mike Huckabee is the best choice
"Do you think we're fueling
November 28, 2007 - 12:36 ET by Chris Norman"Do you think we're fueling this sort of misery?"
I don't know about actual "misery", but you're doing your damnedest, creating the perception of it...
I never watch CNN, MSNBC,
November 28, 2007 - 12:55 ET by buddycI never watch CNN, MSNBC, CBS or any of the MSM. I do believe they trash the ecomony for political resons because they are too stupid and dishonest to have intelligent opinions.
However, I have deep concerns about the economy but I am NO expert. I am concerned over loss of manufacturing jobs, undocumented workers, balance of trade, the fall of the dollar, China and OPEC selling dollars, lack of oil/coal/nuclear production. I worry that we have to import educatated workers or export their jobs because of the failure of our education system. I worry about failure to balance the budget. I support the tax cuts but I honestly am concerned we are spending ourselves in economic collapse just as UBL said.
I think GWB has been a great president but not on spending control and not on balancing the budget.
When will everyone realize 9-11 changed everything!
November 28, 2007 - 13:00 ET by PawpawNWhen will America wake up and realize 9-11 changed everything! We spend monies in places we wouldn't have otherwise, we spend more on security, we've created depts to help keep us secure, etc. If these things had not happened due to 9-11, then people would have the right to fuss, but, given the hand he was dealt after 9-11, GWB has been masterful. My life is better, my children's lives are better, my grandchildren lives are better, my church is growing, my community is getting bigger, etc., etc. We are so spoiled here in USA that we do not realize how the good, no GREAT, Lord has blessed us!!
Typical Headlines
November 28, 2007 - 13:00 ET by mattmThe world's coming to an end.
A recession is looming.
Fewer jobs than expected...
Stocks are up, but.... Sales are up, but... Unemployment is down, but....
And they wonder why consumer confidence is down? Actually I don't think they wonder; this is calculated...
so much for the phony claim
November 28, 2007 - 13:11 ET by professor truththat the media only reports bad news:
Here's the BAD news headline from today's LIBREAL NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.c...
read the story
November 28, 2007 - 13:15 ET by taterread the story again...specifically all the "but" paragraphs.
Do you realize how much it costs to run for office? More than any honest man could afford. -Montgomery Burns
The HEADLINE was PURE OPTIMISM
November 28, 2007 - 13:22 ET by professor truththe pessimism wa buried in the story several paragraphs below.
Being a biased liberal, I would have headlined the pessimism and buried the optimism part. The story was biased in favor of a positve economy.
more econ bad news
November 28, 2007 - 13:24 ET by LionKingHere...
the headline was positive
November 28, 2007 - 19:08 ET by red_dragon311the headline was positive i'll give you that
That's anecdotal
November 28, 2007 - 13:23 ET by mattmThat's anecdotal cherry-picking - Strike One,
a non-sequitur - Strike two,
and a false premise (I never said "only reports...") all in one post! Strike three...you're out.
People that didn't live
November 28, 2007 - 13:18 ET by MidAmericaPeople that didn't live through the carter years don't know how good the economy is today.
exactly
November 28, 2007 - 13:24 ET by candanceIt's like living in Orwell's 1984 - liberals love to act like history started yesterday.
card holding member of the vast right-wing conspiracy
Amen to that brother!
November 28, 2007 - 14:03 ET by Gary P JacksonAmen to that brother!
Answering Velshi
November 28, 2007 - 14:21 ET by Lame CherryIn answer to Velshi feeding misery..........
I would get my buddy Cher to slap him and tell him to "Snap out of it!"
Then I think I would get Russell Crowe to got slap him and take his debit card where we would all get some beer and smooth whiskey.
Then I know we would go over to Charlie Sheen's place where Charlie would hire some strippers to slap Velshi.
Drunk, partying with Cher, Crowe and Charlie having strippers abuse him...........I believe by then Velshi would think America was doing pretty good and forget about his bald headed misery.
Frankly that is all Chris Matthews, Keeter Olberman and the rest of these twits need..........just a good time and then going to Church so they can repent of being twits.
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