This may be the beginning of a new summer, but one thing that isn’t new is the rise in gas prices. The average price for a gallon of gas is around $2.60, but though many in the media complain, they missed a big chance to talk about solutions.
On CNBC’s June 11 “Larry Kudlow Report,” Larry Kudlow hosted Indiana Rep. Mike Pence to discuss possible measures that might help lower gas prices – including a new GOP energy plan. But ABC’s “World New with Charles Gibson” and CBS’s “Evening News” instead focused on how gas prices were hurting Americans, and left out the bit about a new Republican plan to lower energy costs.
A familiar phrase from last year, “Drill, drill, drill!” was one solution that Kudlow offered several times throughout the program as a way to lower gas prices. Kudlow asked Pence, “I don’t know, why can’t we deregulate drill and, you know, all over the above as we used to say a year ago?” Pence responded, “Well we can, and that’s exactly what Republicans proposed today with a couple of new and fresh ideas.”
Not only did Republicans create the American Energy Act, but Pence described how they have been working for months to, “increase our energy dependence, create jobs, rather than killing jobs like the Democrat bill, and also result in a cleaner environment.” Pence didn’t focus on just drilling. He discussed funding alternative energy, such as solar and wind, with a renewable resources funded from drilling revenue. Nuclear reactors and tax incentives for conservation were also discussed as possible solutions.
But that wasn’t what ABC and CBS chose to report. The two networks ignored the new plan and the work on gas prices and dependence on foreign oil. CBS’s Dean Reynolds simply focused on the stories of those affected by the gas prices. “In Michigan there’s a painful connection between the lengthening lines of the unemployment offices and the rising price of gasoline.” Reynolds gave several reasons including summer driving, but never offered a solution.
Like CBS, ABC also offered no solution and instead created a dire scenario. Anchor Charles Gibson stated that the rising gas prices, “pose a threat to the country.” Reporter Dan Harris asked, “What’s driving this? OPEC countries have cut back on their oil production in order to increase prices.” Even though OPEC countries have been cutting back, Harris never mentioned that the
They would have had to turn to CNBC to see the reporting they missed.