Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and media hype about gasoline prices. On television that third item often takes place not just in your usual standup at a gas station interviewing outraged motorists. In Web-based media, however, the still shot is worth 1,000 barrels.
We've noted how CNN.com has done it. Today, it's ABCNews.com with its front-page teaser headline "Oil: Another Day, Another Record."
The photo accompanying the AP story filed from Vienna -- yes, as in Austria -- by writer George Jahn depicts a gas marquee from an American gas station showing regular unleaded at $4.419-a-gallon. Here's how the caption for the AP photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez that accompanies Jahn's article reads (emphasis mine):
A motorist fuels up at a gas station in San Mateo, Calif. For those praying that oil's meteoric rise to near $120 a barrel is just another another economic bubble, their hopes may get deflated _ growing demand and tighter supplies are likely to keep oil prices high.
Abandon hope all ye who enter here! Oh, and try our 89-cent slushies while you're at it.
Yes, gas prices are high and have been rising for weeks, but as usual hyperbole is the stock and trade of the media here.
San Mateo, California, is hardly Averageville, USA. The gas prices there, on average, are much higher than the national average. According to SanFranGasPrices.com, San Mateo averaged $4.014/gallon for regular unleaded on May 6, up two cents from Monday, May 5. The price shown in the marquee pictured for the AP story is 40 cents higher than today's average for San Mateo and 80 cents higher than the national average of $3.610 as reported by AAA's FuelGaugeReport.com.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Gas is $3.59.9 where I live
May 6, 2008 - 11:15 ET by motherbeltGas is $3.59.9 where I live right now.
They always pick California, with their special blends and extreme restrictions to showcase the high prices. That's far from the average for the rest of the country.
On ads for weight-loss products where people lose 50 lbs. they are required to have a footnote saying "Results not typical. Your results may vary." But the MSM get away with portraying this as if it's the price everywhere.
They should be required to show WHERE that price is and have a footnote that says "Not the average US price" or something similar.
But why let facts get in the way of a good story.
Have to pay it
May 6, 2008 - 11:49 ET by Jerry MackThis is the price that the people that live there have to pay. The price I payed yesterday was $3.90.
I would like Cnn to show it every hour. The footnote that I would like to see is, "Gas prices could be lower if the Senate Dims and Bill Clinton had not blocked drilling in Anwr and off the coasts since 1998!"
So let me get this straight
May 6, 2008 - 11:19 ET by taterSo let me get this straight a writer from Austria is writing a story about American gas prices??? Maybe the Europeans are just jealous of our low, low prices.
Gas is at 3.50 here and the blend that is causing starvation is at 3.40.
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
No, the story is on oil
May 6, 2008 - 11:24 ET by Ken ShepherdNo, the story is on oil prices but the photo is from a San Mateo gas station. The writer and the photo choice are two separate matters. Some editor decided to slap the two together.
Ah okay...what's the reason
May 6, 2008 - 11:32 ET by taterAh okay...what's the reason why San Mateo is so much higher than everyone else though? Is it like around here where gas stations along the interstate are near 4.00 but you go down the road a couple of miles to a gas station in town and they are closer to average.
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
Calif. gas prices are higher
May 6, 2008 - 12:10 ET by motherbeltCalif. gas prices are higher because they have different standards to meet anti-pollution requirements, which apparently requires extra steps in production or additives, and that raises the production costs.
mother......that and
May 6, 2008 - 15:05 ET by BEGRUNTstate and local fuel taxes. In San Francisco for example, the local tax is double that of L.A. The reason is S.F's looney social programs, that are passed on to the consumer. I'm sure you've heard Ahhhhhnold wants to tax everything here. Soon you'll be paying a tax to take a leak.
"If a man does his best, what else is there"?
General George S. Patton Jr.
gas prices
May 6, 2008 - 11:26 ET by StayOnPointWhy doesn't the right have organizations like MoveOn which can put out the message that high gas prices are tied to the Democrats bowing to the Enviro-nuts and not allowing us to drill for our own oil, not allowing us to build refineries, not allowing us to build nuclear power plants and putting restrictions on mining coal. HELLO CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS! WAKE UP! this is a great message to win re-election over the communists/democrats. It is so damn frustrating being a conservative today.
Oppose Obamunism-Elect a Conservative Congress in '08
no relief in sight...
May 6, 2008 - 11:29 ET by mattmdrill ANWR, build refineries, ban ethanol...
Makes sense
May 6, 2008 - 11:34 ET by MeanderingSorry, that won't work. It makes too much sense. America needs more oil to bring down prices, lets have a tax holiday of gas, ah that makes sense.
But in this global oil
May 6, 2008 - 13:14 ET by Dan The Man 2But in this global oil market will more oil bring the prices down?
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Dan... I think the short
May 6, 2008 - 13:20 ET by Clear thinkerDan...
I think the short answer is "yes".
When supply cannot keep up with demand prices go up. If we flood the market with more oil, prices should go down.
"Abstain from McCain"
I was interupted by work and
May 6, 2008 - 13:35 ET by Dan The Man 2I was interupted by work and forgot to add, since it is a global market will it mean more oil and lower prices for the USA? The Oil companies will sell it to the highest buyers and while the price may stabilize we still need refineries to process the oil.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Dan... I'm no expert on
May 6, 2008 - 13:45 ET by Clear thinkerDan...
I'm no expert on this so don't take my word to the bank. If I understand how oil is sold correctly, I don't think it has anything to do with the highest bid. Everyone and their grandmas wants to sell oil to the USA mainly because we are such high users of the product, so I don't see the oil companies selling to one country for one price as they charge another price for a different country.
I think part of the blame goes to the speculators for taking advantage of the supply to demand problem. And yes, new refineries would help.
"Abstain from McCain"
"Speculators" are simply capitalists.
May 6, 2008 - 14:00 ET by sarcasmoThey take risks, and as long as markets aren't secretly manipulated (see today's cloaked open thread comment regarding commodity regulators studiously looking the other way despite hyperconcentrated short silver positions, though) illegally/unfairly, they're NOT to blame for price fluctuations. Individually, they may look like gamblers, but as a group they're a highly effective price forecasting mechanism. By being willing to take risks, they allow others not to take risks, but like any insurance, that shouldn't be a free service.
If they're wrong, they lose, and ideally taxpayers don't ever bail them out. If they're right, they win and pay lots of taxes. Either way, the "chaos" in markets they create is what keeps it profitable to drill for or (assuming new refineries are ever allowed again by the real problem, which is an overly-obese government) refine oil, and that's what keeps our cars going. If anything, the "distributed mind" of futures markets (when regulated minimally, fairly and openly) are probably capitalism's best answer to central planning. Sadly, because of what I see as rampant manipulation that's being ignored by both regulators & financial "journalists," I must pepper my pro-capitalist rants with parenthetical provisos.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
mattm
May 6, 2008 - 11:42 ET by iveseenitallYes, you make too much sense,mattm. And...
"Where sense is wanting, everything is wanting"- Ben Franklin
And...
"Never,Never trust a "liberal""- isia
A *ban* on ethanol
May 6, 2008 - 11:49 ET by sarcasmoMakes about as much sense as the ethanol *subsidy* problem we have now. The problem is control freakery by big government. Even-more government control freakery is not the solution. Want to ban something? Let's ban all market distorting government subsidies. But if running a tanker full of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol up here somehow makes economic sense it should be done, even if it "hurts" Florida's holy sugar dynasties to compete in the world market.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
You're right...I meant
May 6, 2008 - 12:06 ET by mattmYou're right...I meant repeal the ethanol mandates, but I was trying to economize words.
Not Surprised
May 6, 2008 - 11:32 ET by MeanderingWell it just makes sense to show a picture of extremely high prices of gas because showing an image of gas at $3.55 a gallon wouldn't cause fear or loathing of America and oil companies. Sheesh. How else can Democrats get anyone to do anything for them ... its fear.
Imagine
May 6, 2008 - 12:02 ET by iveseenitallImagine if we would have drilled 40 years ago. No shortage today and little dependence upon the shieks. Maybe no war in Iraq. Then imagine 40 (or fewer) years from now, after we've given into the egos and the wallets of nutjobs like Algore and the rest of the self-indulgent politicians who haven't a clue what they are talking about. One thing is for sure, they'll be no more middle-class. The rich will have completely taken over. And the earth won't necessarily be any cleaner. This whole "environmental" thing stinks more than your local garbage dump---because it is the worst kind of "garbage" itself --- immature, ignorant hypocrisy--- enriching the few, while the many suffer the consequences.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
"Maybe no war in
May 6, 2008 - 12:05 ET by shawn228"Maybe no war in Iraq."
So it was about oil? :-)
Shawn... I'm not quite sure
May 6, 2008 - 13:20 ET by Tim the EnchanterShawn... I'm not quite sure if you're deliberately being obtuse, or just innocently ignorant, but the point that was made was that if the Middle East didn't have all of the oil wealth that they do now, they wouldn't have had the time or money to indulge in some of their more interesting hobbies- terrorism and murder. Remember Maslov's Hierarchy?
Tim
May 6, 2008 - 14:05 ET by shawn228No, I was not being serious. I know Dubya truly thoughts the weapon were there.
I thought it, only intersting that he said we might be at war with Iraq. If this thread is about oil and he was talking about if we drilled yrs ago, we might not be at war with Iraq.....when maybe deep down, that is what he thinks?
Oh come on Ken...
May 6, 2008 - 11:42 ET by shawn228Oil is 120 a barrel. Can't you just admit it is a major major problem. You were just saying how the msm was exaggerating 4 dollar a gallon gas last month. that is the case in many states today.
The real problem
May 6, 2008 - 11:52 ET by 10ksnookerDiesel is the real problem, it's 4.29 locally. I guess the ultra-low sulfur fuel didn't reduce prices, just decreased yeilds and upped costs.
BTW: Didn't Lord Nancy say she was going to reduce gas prices before the election? Oh that's right, Democrats always lie before elections. Voters beware.
Three Days of the Condor
May 6, 2008 - 12:14 ET by iveseenitallRemember the 70's movie, "Three Days of the Condor". Robert Redford and his pals mocked the "bad" guys in the government when they asked at the end, "What do you think will happen when they start running out of oil 30 or 40 years from now?". Well, that time is NOW. Redford turned the "bad" guys in to the New York Times (ha) and didn't concern himself about what would happen. Modern "liberalism" doesn't work for the "average" guy; it only works in the minds of the "elites". How many "carbon offsets" have YOU bought today??? Why not, too expensive? Sad.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Oh yeah... Three Days of
May 6, 2008 - 12:20 ET by Jack BauerOh yeah... Three Days of the Condor -- a GREAT paranoid conspiracy thriller, IMHO.
Made zero sense, of course, just like that other superb 70's conspiro-flick, The Parallax View.
Don't forget...their answer
May 6, 2008 - 14:45 ET by motherbeltDon't forget...the "bad guy" answered his own question "what will happen when we start runnng out of oil?" He said paraphrasing) the people will just want us to go over there and get it.
Typical MSM coverage of the
May 6, 2008 - 12:38 ET by expatriotTypical MSM coverage of the problem we face that could be very easily fixed. The problem with that is that the Dhims would lose their power base.
It is no surprise that the Dhims want to use our food supply to find alternative fuels when America has coal deposits that could last for millenia. Fischer-Tropsch technology, a way to make diesel and aviation fuel from coal is not mentioned anywhere unless you are in Montanna.
Has anyone else heard about this? $30-40 bbl for this stuff and we use corn to make bio fuels.
Drilling anyone? ANWR, Gulf Coast, Atlantic Ocean off Florida, Pacific Coast off California. Do I detect a pattern.
None of the MSM will address these issues but they will sure cry "Chicken Little" and hide under the bed.
Shawn, In case you missed
May 6, 2008 - 12:46 ET by expatriotShawn,
In case you missed it the problem is not necessarily the price. Supply and demand drives prices. We are all addressing the self inflicted gunshot wound Americans are suffering because our elected officials caved to enviro whackos and we don't have refineries, new wells, nuclear plants or other alternative fuels like the diesel and av gas that can be produced from coal. As long as we let congress bow to the enviro terrorists we are toast. Bottom line.
expat... Dead-on
May 6, 2008 - 12:51 ET by Clear thinkerexpat...
Dead-on accurate!
"Abstain from McCain"
gas price bias from nb contributing writers.
May 6, 2008 - 14:13 ET by shawn228What you have to understand about my POV, is that I agree with what conservtives say about not mandating ethanol, drilling in Alaska, and building more refineries.
I have been trying to point out Gas Price bias' on NB articles. Its always, it is not adjusted for inflation, the msm is behind it, or my very favorite. When ever the price goes down a dollar. Why is nobody reporting gas prices dropping. Well duh....because oil was 40 dollars a barrel 4-5 yrs ago.
For some reason many authors at NB do not realize gas and he price oil is skyrocketing and the ripple effects are going to be larger than anybody on this site will admit
Guts... I'm waiting for
May 6, 2008 - 12:47 ET by Clear thinkerGuts...
I'm waiting for the day when a President signs an executive order to tell the enviromentalists to go to hell. We have all kinds of Oil and Coal of our own waiting to be harvested, so why don't we?
Geeez, I hate politicians!!!
"Abstain from McCain"
Clear thinker, The
May 6, 2008 - 12:58 ET by expatriotClear thinker,
The problem is Americans are no longer educated. They are indoctrinated to believe whatever is printed. The idiots in Kansas killed a coal fired plant in SE Kansas. What would that have brought the state? Cheap electricity up an down Eastern Kansas to include KC KS. Left overs get sold to MO, OK, and AR. Can you say lost revenues. The new coal powered plants vent back into the earth. Not sure if that is the design but second and third order effects are never taken into account by the Dhimmicrats.