MediaWatch: November 1996
Table of Contents:
Slow Growth Hailed in '96
But Four Years Ago...
In late October 1992 the government announced the 3rd quarter GDP jumped up to 2.7 percent. Four years later, on October 30, the 3rd quarter number fell to just 2.2 percent. But what was bad news for Bush escaped such scorn this year with Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. Indeed, NBC's Tom Brokaw positively spun this year's drop: "The economy was slow, but steady going in the last quarter. Many economists were encouraged by that because it means inflation is under control and interest rates will stay low." On the CBS Evening News Ray Brady noted: "There's one irony here. On election day 1992 the economy was starting to pick up, but voters hadn't felt it yet. Remember that expression, `It's the economy stupid'? And George Bush went down to defeat. On election day 1996 the economy seems to be slowing, but not enough so that most voters will be feeling it." Why hadn't voters in 1992 "felt it"?
Maybe because Brady and his colleagues put a negative spin on 1992 economic news? On October 27, 1992, CBS reporter Susan Spencer filed from the Bush campaign: "He crowed today at upbeat news of a third quarter growth rate of 2.7 percent, though some economists warned that may not hold." She was correct, but not in the direction she thought. It was later revised upward to 3.9 percent. On September 4, 1992 anchor Connie Chung led the show by explaining: "The nation's unemployment rate is down slightly for the second month in a row. But the latest decline is a result of a summer jobs program for teenagers. That program is about to end, and as Ray Brady reports, the picture ahead is bleak." Brady concluded: "After hitting a high of 7.8 percent for June, then dipping a tenth of a point again last month, most economists now predict next month's jobless rate could hit 7.8 percent."
One month later, the rate fell from 7.6 to 7.5 percent. On the October 2, 1992 CBS Evening News Brady skipped his mistake and offered a new reason to dismiss the good news: "Those unemployment lines did become a bit shorter last month, but economists say that's largely because many Americans simply stopped looking for work, so they're no longer counted as unemployed." CBS wasn't the only culprit. On ABC's World News Tonight October 30 Peter Jennings gave equal weight to both sides: "President Clinton...noted that many economists say a cooling off is necessary to keep inflation down and therefore, he thinks, the numbers were good news. Senator Dole on the other hand was in Tennessee earlier today, along with Mrs. Dole. He says the numbers are cause for concern. He went on to say if Mr. Clinton is re-elected there could be a recession."
But four years ago Jennings insisted the 2.7 percent GDP is "more than economists had projected, but in many cases, less than meets the eye." Bob Jamieson then reported that "many economists say the report is not proof the economy is taking a sharp turn for the better." The next day, October 28, 1992, Jennings warned: "The President may complain about the news media, but the economic growth figures which he is so pleased about are not that definitive, according to a great many independent economic analysts." All this matches the Center for Media and Public Affairs finding that "In September, fully 91 percent of sources said the economy was healthy," but "in September 1992, 98 percent of all sources on the [ABC, CBS and NBC] evening news criticized the state of the economy
