NBC Notes Lack of Economic Confidence; Blames "Record" Gas Price --8/10/2005

1. NBC Notes Lack of Economic Confidence; Blames "Record" Gas Price
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on Tuesday night wondered, "with many of the numbers and many economists saying the economy is in good shape in this country, the question is: Why isn't President Bush benefitting from that?" Reporter Kelly O'Donnell inadvertently provided part of the answer when she suggested the lack of public confidence in the economy is "fueled most notably by record gas prices, an issue the White House concedes overshadows other economic successes." But while gas prices are rising, they are far short a "record" high price. NBC isn't alone in spreading this canard. On Monday's CBS Evening News, anchor Bob Schieffer asserted that "the government reported today that gas prices jumped eight cents in the past week to a record high of $2.37 a gallon. And oil soared to another record high, today just short now of $64 a barrel." The same night, ABC anchor Charles Gibson falsely cited how the cost of gas and oil "hit new highs."

2. Good Morning America Features "Exclusive" Interview with Sheehan
Over video of Bush-hater Cindy Sheehan yelling at a Sheriff's deputy near Bush's Texas ranch, Charles Gibson opened Tuesday's Good Morning America by touting: "Standing her ground. She lost her son in Iraq, she opposes the war, now she's camped out at President Bush's ranch and says she won't leave until he meets with her. An exclusive interview on Good Morning America." Gibson at least forced her to react to a parent who wants the U.S. to complete the mission in Iraq and raised how she already had a meeting with President Bush, though he didn't point out how at the time, in June of 2004, she praised Bush.

3. Koppel & Brown Deny Jennings Had Bias, Brown Tags Critics "Silly"
ABC's Ted Koppel and CNN's Aaron Brown on Monday night insisted that the late Peter Jennings displayed no bias in his reporting, and Brown even used a tribute to Jennings as a chance to slam "silly" critics who saw bias. "Peter was no ideologue of the left or the right," Koppel declared on Nightline. Earlier on MSNBC's Hardball Koppel had complained that "he was often and unfairly portrayed as being anti-Israeli." On CNN's NewsNight, Brown asserted: "I never once saw him look at a story, treat a story with anything other than complete fairness and demand the same from us. The silly little Web sites on the left and the right will spend days saying otherwise, but they are wrong."

4. Update on the Radical Leftism of "Raging Grannies" Touted by NBC
Update to the Tuesday CyberAlert item on the Today show's celebrating of the anti-war and anti-Bush "Raging Grannies." In a Tuesday posting on the MRC's new blog, NewsBusters, "How Radical Are NBC's Grannies?," the MRC's Tim Graham directed readers: "For more on the Raging Grannies that Brent 'The Scourge of Media Bias' Baker posted, see additional lame leftist song lyrics here [link]. The Grannies' official page at the Tucson chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (even more lame lyrics) is here. Are they radical lefties? A look at their Spring newsletter shows they chant 'Free Lori Berenson,' who is an American leftist convicted of aiding a Marxist terrorist group in Peru. That's not so peaceful..."

NBC Notes Lack of Economic Confidence;
Blames "Record" Gas Price

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on Tuesday night wondered, "with many of the numbers and many economists saying the economy is in good shape in this country, the question is: Why isn't President Bush benefitting from that?" Reporter Kelly O'Donnell inadvertently provided part of the answer when she suggested the lack of public confidence in the economy is "fueled most notably by record gas prices, an issue the White House concedes overshadows other economic successes." But while gas prices are rising, they are far short a "record" high price. NBC isn't alone in spreading this canard. On Monday's CBS Evening News, anchor Bob Schieffer asserted that "the government reported today that gas prices jumped eight cents in the past week to a record high of $2.37 a gallon. And oil soared to another record high, today just short now of $64 a barrel." The same night, ABC anchor Charles Gibson falsely cited how the cost of gas and oil "hit new highs."

In fact, adjusted for inflation -- which is the only way to accurately measure any cost trend -- to match the record price of 1980, gas would have to exceed $2.97 a gallon and a barrel of oil would need to go over $90.

Williams set up the August 9 NBC Nightly News piece: "And as for President Bush today, he was talking about the economy, talking up some recent economic indicators that are showing the country on solid footing. Those recent numbers were one of the reasons behind today's decision by the Federal Reserve Board to raise a key interest rate by a quarter point to 3.5 percent, the tenth increase since June of last year. Wall Street was happy with what the Fed did. The Dow gained almost 79 points, NASDAQ composite was up just under 10 points on the day.
"So with many of the numbers and many economists saying the economy is in good shape in this country, the question is: Why isn't President Bush benefitting from that? NBC's Kelly O'Donnell is at the President's vacation ranch, the western White House in Texas, with more on that."
O'Donnell began, as corrected against the closed-captioning by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth: "Casual Tuesday for the Bush economic team at the western White House today. Assembled here to button up a range of facts and figures, touting evidence of the country's prosperity."
George W. Bush in Crawford: "The economy is growing faster than any other major industrialized country. Job growth is strong."
O'Donnell: "Add to that low inflation, below average unemployment, the kind of good news that typically drives favorable public opinion. But President Bush isn't getting the credit."
Karlyn Bowman, public opinion analyst: "But Americans at this point just don't feel it in their everyday lives, and that's the problem for the White House."
O'Donnell, over a graphic for an AP poll: "Just 41 percent of Americans polled last week approve of the President's handling of the economy, a six-point slide from 47 percent in March. Experts say many Americans are distracted from upbeat indicators by the war and other issues."
Bowman: "There clearly is a spillover from the war in Iraq, and I think there often is a lag in consumer confidence."
O'Donnell maintained: "Fueled most notably by record gas prices, an issue the White House concedes overshadows other economic successes."
Bush: "First of all, we have a challenge when it comes to energy."
O'Donnell: "And another challenge creating broader gains. Lower-income Americans are saving less, and their wages have been slower to rise. Experts say public perceptions often trail behind signs of growth in the economy. Looking to speed that process, the White House is selling hard, hoping to earn more of the credit. Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News, with the President in Crawford."

All year the networks have been pushing the erroneous "record high" gas and oil price line. Previous CyberAlert items:

# March 17 CyberAlert: The futures price for a barrel of oil and the cost of a gallon of gas at the retail pump have been soaring, but they are far from record highs, yet the networks make that false assertion. On Wednesday night, Peter Jennings teased: "On World News Tonight, the price of oil is at another record high." Betsy Stark soon issued an inaccurate prediction that "gas prices are now within a penny of their all-time record." On CNN, Erica Hill referred to how "crude oil prices hit a record high today closing" and the "AAA predicts U.S. gas prices could reach an all-time high tomorrow." CBS's Bob Schieffer insisted that "the price of oil hit a record $56 a barrel today." NBC's Brian Williams declared that "the price of oil set a new record high -- $56 a barrel." PBS's Jim Lehrer maintained that "the price of crude oil rose to an all-time high today." FNC's Shepard Smith warned: "The cost of oil hitting an all-time high. It looks like the cost of gas is not far from behind." In fact, adjusted for inflation, oil will have to hit $90 a barrel to set a record high and gasoline would reach a record not at $2.07 per gallon but at a $2.97. See: www.mediaresearch.org

# March 18 CyberAlert: CBS's Bob Schieffer repeated the error as he referred to how "the price of gasoline hit a record today" at $2.06 a gallon, but then he contradicted himself as he acknowledged that "adjusted for inflation, that's still about a dollar short" of the 1981 price. Meanwhile, NBC's Brian Williams again made the false claim that "retail prices for regular gasoline hit a record average of a little more than $2.05 a gallon," an inaccurate charge made on all the morning shows on Thursday. On Wednesday, Today's Matt Lauer had noted that "some economists are saying that if you take inflation into account that these prices are relatively better than for example some times in the late 1970s and the 1980s," but that didn't dissuade Today news reader Ann Curry, who proclaimed on Thursday morning: "Today gasoline prices are at a record high." www.mediaresearch.org

# March 22 CyberAlert: Gas prices have "forced" a man to sleep at the office? The CBS Evening News on Monday night aired its silliest story since Bob Schieffer slid into the anchor chair nearly two weeks ago. After forwarding the canard about how gas prices "hit a new record," Schieffer warned that in Southern California "gas prices are forcing some drivers to take drastic action." Sandra Hughes looked a man who is "forced by economics to drive up to five hours a day" to his job in Malibu since he supposedly "can't afford to move closer to work" and "can't work closer to home," so he "sleeps overnight on a cot in his office." www.mediaresearch.org

# April 6 CyberAlert: Adjusted for inflation, oil will have to top $90 a barrel to set a record and gas $2.97 a gallon at the retail pump, but network anchors continue to falsely describe much lower prices as a "record" high. On NBC's Today on Tuesday morning, Ann Curry asserted: "Gas prices have hit a record for a third week in a row, now averaging $2.22 a gallon for regular." The night before, CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer called $58 a barrel "the highest price ever" for oil and claimed that $2.22 a gallon "for self-serve regular" represented "yet another record." www.mediaresearch.org

# April 12 CyberAlert: Adjusted for inflation, gas at the retail pump will have to hit $2.97 to match a record high, but that didn't deter ABC, CBS and NBC on Monday from falsely describing much lower prices as a "record" high price. "Gasoline hit yet another record high," CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer insisted as he cited a $2.28 price. ABC's Good Morning America painted "Record Breaking Gas Prices" on screen over a story in which David Muir claimed that "the price of a gallon of regular gas is now at an all-time high" and highlighted a woman who supposedly moved in order to avoid driving. Katie Couric declared on NBC's Today: "Gasoline prices have hit an all-time high today averaging $2.32 a gallon." Couric soon suggested that "political analysts say one of the main reasons" for President Bush's falling approval level "is the record high gas prices." Maybe it wouldn't be such a problem if the media weren't making such false statements about "record" high prices. www.mediaresearch.org

Good Morning America Features "Exclusive"
Interview with Sheehan

Over video of Bush-hater Cindy Sheehan yelling at a Sheriff's deputy near Bush's Texas ranch, Charles Gibson opened Tuesday's Good Morning America by touting: "Standing her ground. She lost her son in Iraq, she opposes the war, now she's camped out at President Bush's ranch and says she won't leave until he meets with her. An exclusive interview on Good Morning America." Gibson at least forced her to react to a parent who wants the U.S. to complete the mission in Iraq and raised how she already had a meeting with President Bush, though he didn't point out how at the time, in June of 2004, she praised Bush.

The MRC's Ken Shepherd on Tuesday posted on the MRC's NewsBusters.org blog how the June 24, 2004 The Reporter newspaper in Vacaville, California quoted Sheehan after a meeting with President Bush: "I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis...I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

For Shepherd's blog posting: newsbusters.org

The August 9 CyberAlert recounted network championing of Sheehan: The broadcast networks and CNN on Monday morning trumpeted the vigil outside of President Bush's Texas ranch by a virulent Bush-hater, but didn't really fully convey her hatred. NBC's Katie Couric showcased her at the top of Today: "And a mother's vigil. Her son died in Iraq. Now this woman is camping outside the Bushes' Texas ranch and demanding a meeting with the President today, Monday, August 8th, 2005." On CBS's Early Show, news reader Julie Chen snidely played off of Bush's vacation: "President Bush may be on vacation in Crawford, Texas, but one mom wants to make sure he doesn't forget there's a war going on in Iraq." On Saturday, CBS anchor Thalia Assuras had noted how "while President Bush has heralded the sacrifice of the fallen, his words were met with anger today." That story featured Cindy Sheehan's accusation: "I'm never going to be able to enjoy another vacation because he killed my oldest son." See: www.mediaresearch.org

Catching up with another Sheehan story, NBC's Today on Sunday also trumpeted her cause. News reader Alison Stewart introduced the story: "And now to the war in Iraq. The latest Newsweek poll shows 61% of Americans do not approve the way President Bush is handling the war. That is up from 54% last month. One mother voiced her opinion about the war, close to President Bush's Texas ranch. NBC's Don Teague has more."

Teague explained: "Under a blistering Texas sun, Cindy Sheehan and a group of several dozen protestors, set out to make a point....Sheehan's son, Army Specialist, Cacey Sheehan, was killed while fighting in Iraq last year. She and the other protestors have come to Crawford, following a week that saw at least 29 U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq. They've come, they say, to save other sons and daughters, and demand answers from President Bush, who on Thursday insisted Americans are not dying in vain."
After a clip Bush, Teague continued: "Words of comfort from the President, but for Cindy Sheehan, neither the face to face meeting she hoped for, nor the arrests she was expecting. Instead, Sheehan was met here by two of President's top advisors, a surprise, but she says, still not enough....So she says she'll wait by the road for the President himself, for as long as it takes. Don Teague, NBC News, Crawford."

Back to the August 9 Good Morning America, Robin Roberts set up a taped piece, as caught by the MRC's Brian Boyd: "The mother of another Marine killed in Iraq is on a desperate mission this morning. Cindy Sheehan is demanding to speak to the President about her son. So, she's camped outside Mr. Bush's ranch in Texas. ABC's John Yang joins us from there in Crawford, Texas, this morning."

Yang began: "Good morning, Robin. Cindy Sheehan has already been visited at her campsite here by two of the President's top aides, but she says that's not good enough."
Cindy Sheehan, to police officer: "I was not walking over there, I was walking in the ditch."
Yang: "Today begins Cindy Sheehan's fourth day camped out alongside the road leading to President Bush's Texas ranch. She says she's not leaving until Mr. Bush personally explains why Casey, her 24 year-old Army Specialist son, was killed in Baghdad last year."
Cindy Sheehan: "I deserve answers from the President. You know, he stole my oldest child from me. And the rest of my members deserve these answers, too. And really, the rest of America."
Yang: "Sheehan spends her days trying to find shade from the brutal Texas sun. She's already had heat sickness. She uses a portable toilet and at night sleeps under a small tent. And now, a new concern. Sheehan and her supporters feel they'll be arrested on Thursday when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld arrive to brief the President. Despite those fears, Robin, ABC News has been told by White House officials that they know of no imminent plans for arrest."

A bit later in the 7am half hour, GMA played back a taped interview Charlie Gibson conducted earlier with Sheehan who appeared in the dark from beside the road to Bush's ranch.

Gibson's questions:

-- "More now on that mother that Robin was talking about who lost a son in Iraq and is camped out on the road to President Bush's Texas ranch. Cindy Sheehan is her name. She says she's not moving until the President meets with her. And I had a chance to speak with her a few moments ago."

-- "Cindy Sheehan, bottom line, what do you hope to accomplish with all this?"
(Sheehan: putting occupation back on front page.)

-- Gibson: "Do you really expect the President to see you?"
(Sheehan: "No.")

-- "You did have a meeting with the President just after Casey had died and he came to console the family. Why didn't you make the points to him then?"
(Sheehan: son only dead nine weeks, in deep state of shock. Didn't know about Downing Street Memo, Duelfer etc which, proved "war was based on lies...so I went from a deep state of shock to a deep state of anger.")

-- "I want to play for you a brief soundbite from a man named Jim Boskovitch, who was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos this past Sunday and whose son just did die, as well, in Iraq. Want you to listen to what he had to say."
Jim Boskovitch, on last Sunday's This Week: "I firmly believe and I would echo my son's feelings on this that it is very, very important for our country to remain steadfast and complete the mission that they set out to accomplish."
Gibson: "There are a lot of parents who feel that way, who've lost children over there. What do you say to them? Does what you're doing in any way disrespect their loss?"
(Sheehan: No. Only way to honor memory is to bring troops home. Wished they could tell me what the mission is.)

-- "And you stay where you are camped on the road to Crawford?"
(Sheehan: Yes, until Bush meets with me or I'm arrested.)

-- "Do you anticipate there's a possibility of arrest?"
(Sheehan: Rumors that if we're not gone by Thursday we'll be arrested.)

Koppel & Brown Deny Jennings Had Bias,
Brown Tags Critics "Silly"

ABC's Ted Koppel and CNN's Aaron Brown on Monday night insisted that the late Peter Jennings displayed no bias in his reporting, and Brown even used a tribute to Jennings as a chance to slam "silly" critics who saw bias. "Peter was no ideologue of the left or the right," Koppel declared on Nightline. Earlier on MSNBC's Hardball Koppel had complained that "he was often and unfairly portrayed as being anti-Israeli." On CNN's NewsNight, Brown asserted: "I never once saw him look at a story, treat a story with anything other than complete fairness and demand the same from us. The silly little Web sites on the left and the right will spend days saying otherwise, but they are wrong."

We'd presume the MRC is amongst the groups he considers "silly." And while the MRC and CyberAlert did regularly document examples of what we considered to be Jennings' liberal tilt, and that record of reporting remains detailed in the MRC's archives, since he revealed his illness in April we ceased our criticism. At our April 21 DisHonors Awards our Master of Ceremonies, Cal Thomas, wished Jennings well and we removed from the program quotes from him.

On Monday morning, MRC President Brent Bozell wrote this statement: "The Media Research Center offers its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Peter Jennings upon learning of his passing. His was as full a career as any network journalist could hope to have in an industry that is known for constant turnover. Mr. Jennings' journalistic accomplishments and longevity at the height of his profession will always command honor and respect."
If his colleagues, however, are going to affirmatively deny he had any bias, CyberAlert at this time will recount those assertions while refraining from providing counter-evidence.

On the August 8 Hardball on MSNBC, in an interview taped at the ABC News Washington bureau, Koppel told David Gregory: "He was often and unfairly portrayed as being anti-Israeli. He was not. He really was not."

At the very end of Monday's Nightline, delayed 40 minutes in the Eastern and Central time zones by Monday Night Football, Koppel maintained:
"Peter and I were good and close friends. I think I knew him well. So, I hope you'll believe me when I tell you how hard Peter Jennings always tried to be fair. Not the mindless, on the one hand but the other hand kind of fairness, but a determination to try at least to understand different aspects of an issue, to put cold facts in an intelligent and compassionate context. Peter was no ideologue of the left or the right. He was hired as a young man for his charisma and good looks. He will be missed for his devotion to good journalist, his broad knowledge, his fairness and, most important, his decency."

On CNN's August 8 NewsNight, Aaron Brown, a former colleague of Jennings' at ABC News, recalled his work relationship with him:
"I'll tell you that he was tough. He was a tough boss. I once said to him on one of those days when we fought, 'You just hate good writers.' And he said, 'Not as much as I hate bad ones, maybe.' We fought a lot, not nasty fights, but we did fight. He wanted me to be better and, fool that I was, I wasn't afraid of him. In truth, I think he liked a good fight. It reminded him of the time when he wasn't the anchor. Maybe I was wrong.
"But he was also an incredible professional role model. I never once saw him look at a story, treat a story with anything other than complete fairness and demand the same from us. The silly little Web sites on the left and the right will spend days saying otherwise, but they are wrong. He believed in journalism, believed in reporting, believed that, by the measure of our good, and fair, and honest work, we could contribute to a better world. And to my mind, he did."

# Tonight, Wednesday (at 8pm EDT/PDT, 7pm CDT/MDT), ABC will air a two-hour tribute to Jennings: "Peter Jennings: Reporter."

Update on the Radical Leftism of "Raging
Grannies" Touted by NBC

Update to the Tuesday CyberAlert item on the Today show's celebrating of the anti-war and anti-Bush "Raging Grannies." In a Tuesday posting on the MRC's new blog, NewsBusters, "How Radical Are NBC's Grannies?," the MRC's Tim Graham directed readers: "For more on the Raging Grannies that Brent 'The Scourge of Media Bias' Baker posted, see additional lame leftist song lyrics here [link]. The Grannies' official page at the Tucson chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (even more lame lyrics) is here. Are they radical lefties? A look at their Spring newsletter shows they chant 'Free Lori Berenson,' who is an American leftist convicted of aiding a Marxist terrorist group in Peru. That's not so peaceful..."

For the blog posting with promised links: newsbusters.org

Here's one of the links, to the Tucson chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: www.wilpftucson.org

The August 9 CyberAlert article: Monday's Today on NBC devoted over seven minutes of its last half hour to a friendly story and interview with "raging grannies," some elderly women in Tucson who hold small rallies outside military recruiting offices where they don big, colorful hats and sing song parodies such as "we're here to stop the war machine, don't get in our way!", "Halliburton profits from war," "taxes unending, military spending, what a waste, what a waste!" Reporter Paul Alexander trumpeted their efforts: "With their will and their words as their only weapons these grannies from 53 to 93 years of age protest on this downtown street corner every Wednesday." As they sang, "Down with the one who would drive the country under," the camera showed a George W. Bush doll decked out in a black and white striped prison shirt with an American flag draped on his shoulder. Four of the grannies then sat for an interview with a delighted Natalie Morales who hailed their "witty lyrics" and sounded in awe as she wondered: "Tell me what it's like to be able to, to speak and to be a voice for a demographic that, generally we don't hear that much from, especially as activists?" See: www.mediaresearch.org

# Don't forget to check out our new blog, NewsBusters, and contribute your comments. Many CyberAlert items will be posted there, allowing you to share your thoughts on the bias they document or how CyberAlert reported the bias. NewsBusters is designed to expose and combat liberal media bias -- but we need your input. Go to: www.newsbusters.org

-- Brent Baker