An inflation report coming in lower than expected with a core inflation number under 3 for the first time since the pandemic would have drawn elated A-block coverage across the “legacy” evening news. But a similar report at the outset of Trump II? Not so much.
Here’s how the inflation report was discussed on the NBC Nightly News:
IT'S (D)IFFERENT: The better-than-forecast inflation numbers drew a grand total of 8 seconds on the NBC Nightly News pic.twitter.com/MYejS8gl6k
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 11, 2025
CHRISTINE ROMANS: That bright spot, consumer prices fell in March from the month before, bringing the inflation rate to 2.4%.
That’s 8 seconds on the rate itself- nothing on core CPI or the things that drove the reduction in inflation. 8 seconds for the “bright spot” within a doom-and-gloom report on tariffs that ran 2 minutes and 44 seconds. If we were doing one of our classic studies, we’d say NBC devoted about 20.5 times as much time to tariff fear mongering as they did to the positive inflation report.
The CBS Evening News was measurably worse. John Dickerson couldn’t be bothered to mention the actual rate.
The better-than-expected inflation report garnered just under 9 seconds on the CBS Evening News, tucked into the lede on a story about retail egg-laying hens. It's (D)ifferent, you see. pic.twitter.com/0yR1moCr7y
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 11, 2025
JOHN DICKERSON: Falling gasoline prices are helping to bring inflation down. The government reported today that consumer prices fell a tenth of a percent in March.
Not just measurably worse, but significantly worse. The nearly 9 seconds devoted to inflation is about 39 times less than was accorded to tariffs.
And yet, there were worse depths to plumb. ABC World News Tonight didn’t even bother to cover the report at all. Zero. Nada. Had this report happened under a hypothetical President Harris, David Muir would be doing somersaults and delivering a rambling 5-minute introduction to the report. When you aggregate the total coverage times devoted to tariffs, that’s close to 50 times the coverage given to the inflation report.
If it weren’t for double standards, there'd be none at all.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening newscasts on Thursday, April 10th, 2025:
CBS EVENING NEWS
4/10/25
6:38 PM
JOHN DICKERSON: Falling gasoline prices are helping to bring inflation down. The government reported today that consumer prices fell a tenth of a percent in March.
MAURICE DuBOIS: But food prices were up 0.4% and eggs have hit $6.23 a dozen.
DICKERSON: That's driving some people to DIY eggs, and in this case, Elaine Quijano reports the chicken comes first.
ELAINE QUIJANO: It's a scramble to fill orders at Marie McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa. These chicks are in high demand. Customers want egg-laying hens.
SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR: McMurray Hatchery. Are you okay with a white-egg layer?
TOM WATKINS: We are taking anywhere from 2000-2500 phone calls a day.
QUIJANO: This family run business hatches an average of 3 million chicks each year. Tom Watkins is president.
WATKINS: Late January is probably when we really noticed that this was not a typical year. We saw calls that were double and triple in that time frame.
QUIJANO: And what sparked that demand?
WATKINS: Egg prices. You know? That's probably number one.
QUIJANO: Right now the cost of a dozen large eggs is up more than $3 from a year ago.
QUIJANO: The only threat to Watkins’ business is bird flu. He has 50,000 chickens in five barns. Those barns sit in a busy migration path for wild birds which can spread the disease, so every vehicle here is sprayed and once a month, chickens are swabbed and tested for bird flu. The precautions are part of a precise process to incubate, hatch, and ship day-old chicks.
AMIE ROE: We ordered all hens.
QUIJANO: To customers like Amie Roe in upstate New York.
ROE: We will get a lot of eggs from these chicks.
QUIJANO: She already has a flock of chickens.
Why did you decide to get more chicks now?
ROE: Well... [Laughs] Chicken math. We just- we love chickens and we wanted to keep high numbers of laying eggs.
QUIJANO: Roe has a steady supply of eggs for her family, and sells the rest for $6 a dozen at a local farm stand. They often sell out.
DuBOIS: And Elaine Quijano joins us now, what a concept here. So how much do these chicks cost to buy and then to care for them?
QUIJANO: So McMurray Hatchery cells chicks for about $3 to $12 per chick, and then after that the cost can really vary. It depends on how elaborate you want your set up to be. But chickens need to be protected from predators and the weather- that often means a coop and some fencing. That can start at about a couple hundred dollars and go up from there. And the cost of chicken feed for one hen? About $36 a year.
DuBOIS: Okay.
DICKERSON: Elaine Quijano, thank you.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
4/10/25
6:38 PM
TOM LLAMAS: We turn to the chaos on Wall Street. Not over yet. It was another brutal day with some of yesterday's gains wiped out. The president today ramping up his trade war on China and warning, it will come at a cost to Americans. Here’s Christine Romans.
ROMANS: Another day of whiplash on Wall Street. The Dow closing down more than 1,000 points, reversing about a third of yesterday's historic gains. It’s down 6.2% since President Trump announced new tariffs last week, and today, the president hinting the worst is not over.
DONALD TRUMP: There’ll be a transition cost and transition problems. But in the end, it’s going to be- it’s going to be a beautiful thing.
ROMANS: Just 24 hours after he said people's nervous reactions to the market prompted his abrupt pause on most of the tariffs.
TRUMP: I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know. They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.
ROMANS: But tonight investors showing they are still worried about the growing trade war with China, with The White House clarifying, its tax on Chinese imports will now total 145%.
TRUMP: Well, we'll see what happens with China. They've really taken advantage of our country for a long period of time. They've ripped us off beyond anybody. All we're doing is putting it back in shape.
ROMANS: And today the Treasury Secretary insisting what he sees in the market is not unusual. That allies are calling now to make deals to lower their trade barriers on American companies.
SCOTT BESSENT: We will end up in a place of great certainty over the next 90 days on tariffs. But we have very good inflation numbers today.
ROMANS: That bright spot, consumer prices fell in March from the month before, bringing the inflation rate to 2.4%. Better numbers than expected. But for so many small businesses, it’s the ongoing turmoil over tariffs that’s having the biggest impact.
KATE NELSON: Your little small business that you love to walk to, we're really going to be hurting.
ROMANS: Kate Nelson owns the Greenwood shop in California and on Instagram, where she sells goods from all over the world. She says she'll hold off ordering from China for now. But all other imports still face, at least, that baseline 10% border tax.
NELSON: We have Mother's Day coming up. Mother's Day, for small business, is basically mini Christmas. And we are all terrified that our mini Christmas is not going to happen.
LLAMAS: And Christine, I know you have some new reporting about some of the deals the president is trying to cut with these other countries?
ROMANS: Yeah, a couple of the president's advisers saying today there are about 15 countries that have made offers. They're prepping those, they’re going to present those to the president. No movement on China here, and that pause, Tom, expires July 9th.
LLAMAS: Okay. Good to know there. Christina, we thank you for that.
