Time Writer Asks Why Drivers Aren't 'Flipping Out' About Gas Prices, Fails to Examine Role of Media's Coverage
"Gas prices are soaring again in 2012, yet the auto industry is booming, and drivers, while annoyed, are mostly taking rising fuel costs in stride. What’s changed?" Time magazine's Brad Tuttle asked in an April 10 TIME Moneyland blog post. Tuttle offered numerous explanations but failed to consider the media's coverage as one explanation for why Americans seem to not be seething angry about high gas prices.
As our colleague Julia Seymour of the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute noted earlier this month (emphasis mine):
The Business and Media Institute analyzed broadcast network news stories discussing $4 gas in the 144 day period of rising prices leading up to such highs in 2008 and 2011/2012 (Jan. 1, 2008-May 23, 2008 and Nov. 6, 2011-March 28, 2012). BMI found there were nearly 3 times as many stories about $4 gas in 2008 than in 2012 (85 to 31).
[...]
In 2008, NBC’s “Today” exaggerated already rising prices by airing a story about a gas station in California charging $5.40 a gallon for full serve premium -- when regular was $2.11 less. NBC even quoted the station owner saying people had told him to “burn in hell” for charging such a premium.
Back then, ABC found gas prices coming between families and God in 2008. Bianna Golodryga interviewed Juan Martinez who said, “We’ve really cut down on the amount of times that we’ve come into service since the price has gone up.” CBS even found someone who said they wish they could go back to using a horse and buggy.
That was the way the media treated gas prices as they climbed to $3.91 (on their way to an eventual peak of $4.11). Not only is there less coverage about $4 gas now, the tone is less hyperbolic. In some cases, such as the March 15 “Good Morning America,” network reporters found “encouraging news on gas prices.”
That morning, anchor George Stephanopoulos was psyched to report “new indications” that gas prices “may have peaked.” Prices have climbed nearly 10 cents per gallon since that day’s average ($3.82).
In that same broadcast, Stephanopoulos claimed “so far, high gas prices haven’t hurt the consumers.”
Consumers seem to disagree. The Los Angeles Times reported March 27 that the prices caused a dip in consumer confidence and that restaurant owners were “living in fear of rising gas prices.” CNBC reported on March 26 that “drivers are choosing to consume less, evidenced by a 3 percent drop in total consumption over the same period a year ago.” “Economists have begun to worry as well,” CNBC noted.
It's abundantly clear that in 2008 the media were glomming on to any and every piece of negative economic news, particularly high gas prices, to amplify and encourage political outrage with outgoing President Bush and the Republican Party in general, particularly the GOP presidential nominee.
Now that it's President Obama facing reelection, the media are doing their level best to defend the president's energy record, making excuses and engaging in labored spin to ensure that the issue of rising gas prices is not a liability at the polls in November.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
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Comments
Excellent Ken - today the LAT's noted:
Submitted by Gary Hall on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 5:23pm.
. . here, in doing a horrible job in reviewing the latest ABC/Washington Post poll, this:
The lack of fault placed on Obama, particularly in comparison to the blame directed at President George W. Bush during price spikes in 2004 and 2005, can be chalked up to the perception of other parties involved
"perception?" I proposed that the voters "perception" was shaped by the MSM"s presentation of nothing short of mis-leading and biased coverage of the issues here - especially compared to how they covered the same, during the Bush years.
I was looking for a correction on another dandy in the same story:
The number of Americans who strongly disapprove of his handling of the economy, 42%, nearly outnumbers those with any degree of support for him, 44%
Isn't that a dandy, as well? FTR, according to the poll, It was 54% who disapprove and 44% approving - on the issue of Obama's handling of the economy.
(;~/ gary
We are being taught a lesson.
Submitted by creekrat on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 9:46pm.
The oil companies along with this administration and the complicit media are showing us who is in charge. The law of supply and demand has been done away with....along with a lot of other laws we used to have !
Most peoples' gasoline
Submitted by big.league.slider on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 9:58pm.
Most peoples' gasoline consumption is primarily for commuting back and forth to work. Since fewer Americans have jobs to commute to, high gasoline prices are currently not much of a problem.
But for those that do.....
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:19am.
But for those that do have jobs, they have to decide what to cut back on, what to cut out entirely, how to combine certain tasks and errands, how to plan to spend frugally, and just not count on the fed government to do the right thing(moratorium, refineries, etc...oh yeah, the value of the dollar too).
For example, the amount of driving that I used to do in an average year has gone WAY down, best way to describe it would be how often I had oil changes which was 3-4 times a year. This past year it was once in the whole year, the previous year, it was twice, so just from that alone, my driving mileage has come WAY down from around 9-10K miles, to about 3K miles.
Did I save money on that? HELL NO! Gas kept going up, food prices, store prices, and services went up with it, so I'm losing money no matter what. How many of us on have the same story?
-Jon
I submit that the big difference
Submitted by Quasi-socialist on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 8:53am.
is that this time conservatives are the ones out of power. Conservatives have less of a problem with Oil company profit--and profit in general, are more stoic or less alarmist, not to mention that their voice tends to be shut out of the media.
I think Bush had conservative loyalists, but Obama loyalists are more central in the media, so the media reflects that non-alarmist sensibility. The libs are much more willing to put up with bad economics when their guy is responsible. They made 7% unemployment sound like the end of the world under Bush Sr., but in an 8% unemployment they want to emphasize a stable history of "job creation".
They are flipping out
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:58am.
People are flipping out but the media refuses to cover it because it might make their l'il man in the white house look bad. You know only the evil republicans can really control gas prices even when they can't.
What a dispicable bunch of liars the so called MSM are. No wonder most of them are democrats. The mantra of the democrat party is lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes to win. What a pitiful excuse for human beings.
What???
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:27am.
Consumer spending was down last month and and at every social event from a soccer game to a party the subject comes up. People are noticing and are NOT happy. I have heard about what folks are cutting back on to afford gas, how thankful they are for the mild winter as every penny saved on heat has gone into the gas tank and how worried they are if we have a hot summer what the bills will be and how they will be able to afford gas. Wondering if it is NOW worth trading in the old car for one with better milege since the Obama tax credit couldn't motivate them 18 months ago. I heard business men and women worried how the fuel costs are hurting the bottom line and housewives complaining about the cost of food due to high fuel costs.
The only ones NOT flipping out over the cost of gas is the MSM who are working overtime to cover Obama's butt since they know darn well that after decades of blaming Republican Presidents for gas prices the blowback on Obama would be massive since the people "KNOW" the President is responsible. All the lack of reporting on the topic is part of the re-elect Obama being played out in the media coverage we see today. Forget Wall Street the MSM is now one of the most corrupt institutions in the country today.
tired of liberal lies