For years, NewsBusters and its parent, the Media Research Center, have been reporting on the disparity in economic coverage by mainstream media outlets during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
In the past seven years, economic data that would have been praised when Bill Clinton was in the White House has continually been presented as recessionary, or even depression-like.
With that in mind, CNN's Lou Dobbs was discussing the economy, and, in particular, the recent holiday sales figures with WOR radio's Steve Malzberg Monday. The conservative host asked Dobbs, "If these numbers were the numbers nearing the end of a Clinton administration or a Democrat's administration, wouldn't they be touting it as a wonderful, strong economy?
Dobbs amazingly answered (14-minute audio available here, relevant section begins at 8:30):
How delicious.
Earlier in the discussion, Dobbs spoke about last Friday's holiday sales, and the deplorable way they were covered by the media:
The fact is, the numbers went up eight percent. So shut up already. That is the news, that's the story. And why do people want to parse this thing down to one direction or the other? The reason is for their partisan advantage. I mean, my God, I could only imagine what the New York Times will be reporting tomorrow. Or the Washington Post. Or, for that matter, to be completely fair and balanced here as my friends at Fox would say, the Washington Times on the other side.
To be fair, Dobbs didn't have very good things to say about either political party, and discussed economic problems relating to our trade deficit, and the unfunded liabilities associated with entitlement programs. He blamed all in Washington for this -- Democrats and Republicans -- and elaborated as to why he is advocating and hoping for a strong Independent candidate to win the White House next year.
That said, without commenting on his position concerning such matters, it is refreshing to see such a stalwart at CNN admit just how biased the media are concerning economic reporting.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.
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I watched Glenn Beck last
November 27, 2007 - 13:48 ET by Chris NormanI watched Glenn Beck last night, looking at the home mortgage problems. I'm going to have to go easier on my Beck viewing. By the end of the segment, I felt like all was lost, the economy, built on credit, is completely collapsing, and we are about to go into a depression of apopolectic proportions. Beck, sometimes, gets way too hysterical and dark. His conservative philosophy lacks any optimism. He's like a sardonic Pat Buchanan...
Chris
November 27, 2007 - 14:02 ET by Noel SheppardChris,
Sorry to hear that. What I find interesting about the current hysteria is that sub-primes represent about 2 percent of mortgages. That's it.
Now, if only 2 percent of technology companies that had been brought to market in the 90s ended up being all hot air, do you think the NASDAQ would have declined by almost 80 percent, and the S&P 500 by 50 percent in the ensuing bear market? Furthermore, would it have been at all recessionary?
Now, I'm not suggesting there isn't a problem. My wife works for WAMU -- believe me, there's a problem. However, it is nowhere near as dire as folks are suggesting, and our economy can and will absorb it.
Consider also that not all of these sub-primes will be defaulted on. Not even close. As such, the impact is even less than 2 percent. Make sense?
As I said in an article on Saturday, in the past six years, our economy has almost taken in stride an attack on our nation, a 50 percent decline in stock prices, a 100 percent increase in gas prices, a 400 percent increase in oil prices, an almost five-year long war, and the most expensive natural disaster in history.
If folks think such a strong economy can't take a huge uptick in single-family home foreclosures, they haven't been paying attention. :-) ns
Noel, Last night, Beck said
November 27, 2007 - 14:24 ET by Chris NormanNoel,
Last night, Beck said that many of his guests, who, on-air, talk up the future of the economy, agree with his dire predictions - off-camera. His gloom seems to center around the low interest rates which he says are destroying the value of the dollar and foreign investment. He has one guest on frequently who has written a book about the home mortgage "meltdown" and speaks in doomsday terms. I'm hardly an economist, but even I know talk like this is from those end-of-the-world books one sees in stores. I know our economy is more resilient and self correcting than these crisis theorists would have us believe. I think Beck will hurt himself eventually if all he pumps out are thoughts of "it'll never work and we're all going to die".
Chris
November 27, 2007 - 14:44 ET by Noel SheppardChris,
Well, doom and gloom sell better than hope and prosperity. The reality is that those looking to make a dire case out of the current mortgage and real estate environment can easily do so. However, as a former arbitrageur, and long-time market analyst, I know that when the majority of people are predicting the end of the world, that's when you buy with both hands. ns
Or as Rothschild used to say.........
November 27, 2007 - 15:22 ET by Prester John"When there's blood in the street there is money to be made".
Chris, I like Glenn Beck
November 27, 2007 - 15:19 ET by motherbeltChris, I like Glenn Beck too. But I think he sometimes gets a little too wrapped up in things that he says are secret, and we're never going to hear about anywhere else. Now, he might just be trying to build up himself and his show..."insider knowledge" type of stuff, but, frankly, I think sometimes he's skirting the edge of "black helicopter" conspiracy territory.
mb,He's been in
November 27, 2007 - 17:19 ET by Chris Normanmb,
He's been in overdrive this week with "lying politicians", "economic meltdown", and "losing our national sovereignty". I like sarcastic, dry humor, but his humor is beginning to dip into the bitterly sardonic and is really unenjoyable to endure. Altogether too depressing, hopeless, and out there...
Noel, what Dobbs said is not too surprising to regular viewers
November 27, 2007 - 14:11 ET by RJ...because he's been fashioning himself as a "Populist" for some time. He does lean left, but he takes frequent shots at both sides.
The main reason I try to watch him as often as possible (7PM EST) is his absolute, no-holds war on illegal immigration and all it's ramifications. His showcasing of both the failures and the successes is informative.
AND HE'S THE ONLY NEWS ANCHOR DOING SO.
Lou Dobbs - a hair maiven...
November 27, 2007 - 14:18 ET by robertjacobWhat color was Lou Dobbs hair this week.
Blond? Red? or the occasional Greg?
Can you say Howard Beale?
"Clinton White House Would
November 27, 2007 - 14:51 ET by kg"Clinton White House Would Be Praised for Today’s Economy"
That is an understatement.
Dobbs is one of the few "Centrists" in the media
November 27, 2007 - 14:58 ET by c5thenHe's probably a little left of center, but that still puts him way to the right of the vast majority of the media hacks. Lately he's really been calling a spade a spade. It's refreashing to hear, especially from the Clinton News Network.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Fred08.com
Actually he has been doing
November 27, 2007 - 16:19 ET by well99Actually he has been doing it for along time.He is a centralist and centralist are always right.No bias in last sentence..well maybe a little.Anyhoo I see him calling both dems and Reps on immigration and outsourceing jobs.I also noticed he gave Kennedy credit for amnesty bill unlike the msm who kept trying to push it off as just McCains.He also keeps watch as the Dems trying to slip in other bills for giving illegals rights they dont deserve..
"Gore - 2000 - chance to talk about the economy"
November 27, 2007 - 16:20 ET by Gary HallNoel. I offered this comment a little while back, in regards to a post on Charlie Gibson's (ABC) bias in his presentation of the economy, then vs now. I think it's an example of what Dobbs is saying (Dobbs being, in my view, just an old fashioned JFK kind of Democrat). It's but one which gives a good expample of the MSM selling a collapsing economy, in 2000, as a great economy in an effort to elect a Democrat (Gore). I'm sure there are hundreds more examples to be had.
When it comes to Charlie Gibson, and his friends in this "we hate everything about Republican administrations," it's not about his view of economics - rather, it's about his bias in politics.
Back, earlier this year when the DOW crossed 13,000, here was his view: ""But, Betsy, we've had four years of a straight bull market. Doesn't just the timing of this suggest that there might be a correction?" Note: Charlie's talking about the DOW bull -- I doubt that he's had that much positive to say about the economy during that periond of time.
But back in Aug of 2000, when the DOW was off it's high by 1,100 points, the Nasdaq was down 58% from it's highs, unemployment claims were soaring, CA was in the midst of the Enron blamed energy crisis, the manufacturing index had been in a steep plummet and was nearing the low point in the cycle (continued down until April 2001), and in fact just about every economic number out there was in freefall; here's Gibson pushing the campaign of Al Gore because the economy is so strong:
What? The economy was dying in the moment - eveyone knew that.
Many economists, even the MSM's favorite leftist economists, like Dean Baker, etc., were - and had been - screaming about the dangers facing Americans (especially the working class), when that bubble collapsed. The reason that the federal (and states) budget deficit would quickly swing from surpluses to huge deficits was because of the historic bubble crash; the reason millions of Americans would loose their jobs was because of what was happening in that moment.
Gibson and the MSM choose to ignore the news of what was happening, and instead, kept pushing his view of the great news simply for the purpose of keeping the Democrats in the White House. Simply put - he lied to the American people (or he is totally ignorant of the facts - take your pick.) This site and the MRC has documented hundreds of examples of how our media plays this game. They hide, or play down, the bad news during Democrat administrations; but during Republican administrations, they hype up bits of bad news during good times, and usually do not report the good news, or at least they find something bad to overshadow the good news.
(;~> gary
Credit where credit is
November 27, 2007 - 21:30 ET by Free StinkerCredit where credit is due.
Dobbs can be honest at times, and he seems more sane about immegration than McCain and all the Democrat contenders.