CBS, NBC Worry About Stock 'Plunge,' Other Media Less Frightened
Don’t cash in your stocks just yet.
While “NBC Nightly News” and “CBS Evening News” presented a bleak outlook for viewers on July 26, some experts were less worried. It’s important to note the other side of the story since the Dow dropped more than 200 points again the next day.
“The question now is whether today’s sudden point drop is a minor correction or will have a major impact on the economy,” said CBS correspondent Kelly Wallace.
CBS called the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s drop of 311 points a “nosedive.” Both CBS and NBC presented concerns about a weak housing market, less available credit, and high oil prices.
“Something may be happening to this nation’s financial markets, just as something is definitely happening to the housing market and a whole lot of money managers will tell you an era of wild spending and big debt may be approaching an end,” said anchor Brian Williams on “NBC Nightly News.”
However, the economy isn’t totally dependent on the housing market and other sectors are seeing growth. According to the Associated Press, the gross domestic product numbers, released by the Commerce Department on July 27, indicated the economy had grown at a 3.4 percent rate.
But other media outlets, like Fox News Channel, CNBC and even CNN’s “American Morning” presented a more positive outlook.
“The fears may be greater than the reality,” said Lawrence Kudlow on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company” July 27.
Kudlow stated that with 50 percent of Standard & Poor companies reporting, their profits have increased an incredible 15.3 percent from one year ago. In fact, Kudlow explained the Dow “only lost about 2 percent today.”
Fox News business correspondent Terry Keenan also offered a different viewpoint: “Right now, we have the tailwinds of a very good
But even those who have been critical of the expanding economy tried to settle fears.
“So this is not a crash, if anything, it’s a correction,” said CNN “American Morning” business correspondent Ali Velshi on July 27. “It might not even be a correction; it might just be a stop on the way.”
Velshi also pointed out on “American Morning” that the markets are still up overall for this year. The Dow, the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the NASDAQ are all still in positive territory for the year of 2007.
