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The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
NBC Celebrates Stock Market Boom; ABC,
CBS and NBC Downplay Record-Breaking Day on Wall Street; MSNBC’s
Olbermann Shows His Love for Moore and 'SiCKO'
July 18, 2007
The Good
Finally, a network report on the
climbing stock market that left out the typical class warfare
rhetoric. NBC’s “Today” provided a positive look at Wall Street on
July 17.
“But
while the rich are getting richer, you may be too,” said CNBC’s
Erin Burnett. “Here's why – more than half of Americans are invested
in the market, whether through a 401(k) plan or buying stocks or
mutual funds and many of those investments are surging. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average is up 12 percent so far this year and if
your retirement plan invested in oil, that alone is up 21 percent.
It's also worth noting that while politicians talk about ‘two
Americas’ virtually all Americans are seeing wages rise and
unemployment is at an historic low.”
Burnett also pointed something out you rarely hear on
any network news program – who pays taxes in America and how
“progressively” our tax system is structured, even with the Bush tax
cuts.
“The top 1
percent of Americans, Matt, pay 30 percent of taxes in this
country,” Burnett said. “The bottom 20 percent of wage earners pay
only 5 percent. So while we do have a lot of income inequality, it
is fair to say we still have one of the most progressive systems in
the world.”
The Bad
When the Dow shot up an incredible 283.86 points, or 2.09 percent,
to 13,861.73 on July 12, ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs all
greeted the positive news with skepticism.
“But, and there’s always a ‘but’ with the stock
market,” said ABC correspondent Dan Harris. “If say gas goes to $4 a
gallon or interest rates spike unexpectedly, all bets are off. As
one investor today, the market is a lot like the weather in New
England – if you don’t like it, just wait a day.”
CBS correspondent Anthony Mason mentioned “worries”
still out there and then mentioning the housing market “slump.” And
anchor Brian Williams mentioned the “good news on Wall Street,” but
contrasted it with the “tremendous stress” homeowners are under.
None of the networks gave credit to the supply-side tax
cuts from the Bush administration. The July 12 rally was just a
small part of the prolonged growth of the economy, according to
Lawrence Kudlow of CNBC.
“It started in early 2003, so that’s four and a half
years,” Kudlow said on the July 13 “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. “And it’s
incredible how much wealth is being created out there and it’s
unfortunate, really – almost tragic – that the president just
doesn’t get any credit for it at all because he’s got a lot to say
on the economy.”
On July 17,
the Dow closed at a new record of 13,971 after climbing above the
14,000 mark.
The Ugly
Michael Moore’s temper tantrum on CNN
landed him plenty of media last week, including an appearance on the
July 12 “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC.
It was not quite Brokeback Mountain, but
Olbermann and Moore had plenty of
praise and admiration for one another.
“…and of course you talk about this all the
time on – on your show, and your commentaries have been incredible
about the war …” Moore said to the MSNBC host.
Later, Olbermann returned the love. He had
no qualms about letting his viewers know how much he supports Moore.
In the interview tease, Olbermann said national health insurance is
a topic again “thanks to Michael Moore’s movie ‘SiCKO.’”
“You just used a great phrase here that –
that we seem to be distracted by – by nitpicking [referring
to his spat with CNN],” said Olbermann. “This is the way things
like … should there be universal health care. These are the way
these things get – get sidetracked. Isn’t it?”
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly tracks the best and worst media
coverage of business and economics. Readers are invited to submit
suggestions or news tips to Staff Writer Jeff Poor at
jpoor@mediaresearch.org.
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