August 26, 2005 - 2:00pm
Gas
Hysteria
Media Fail to Realize Oil Not Even Near Records
Reporter Jim Axelrod
mocks local tourism and shows his field of dreams isnt in Iowa.
With the travel holiday of Labor Day Weekend looming, major media continue to pump up fears of non-existent record high prices. Here are some of the latest high and low points:
-
Not exactly
right: NBC Evening Newss Mark Potter did better than
his fellow journalists. His August 25 report didnt claim that
the price of oil had hit records. That didnt stop him from
being incorrect. According to Potter the price of oil, which
has hit near records in part over fears that Katrina would
disrupt drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. A barrel
of oil was selling at $67.65 at this writing, $29 per barrel
less than the inflation adjusted high of nearly $97 or an
additional 43 percent difference. Not exactly near records.
-
No cap on caps:
John Roberts, on the August 25 CBS Evening News slipped in a
little prediction about Hawaiis new anti-free market cap on
wholesale gasoline prices. According to Roberts: Hawaii has become
the first state to put a cap on the price refiners can charge.
(emphasis added)
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Latest culprits:
ABCs Ron Claiborne, Good Morning Americas fill-in newsman
for the day, joined the list of journalists who dont understand
that oil and gas prices havent hit record highs because of
inflation. According to Claiborne it was a new record high for
the price of oil. New York Times reporter Jad Mouawad made the
same error in an energy price story from the same morning. Mouawad
told readers about energy costs rising substantially for a second
year, and reaching another record on oil markets yesterday
Roberts continued his own trend of getting oil and gas records
wrong by saying The price of oil rose again today, to close at
another record high: $67.49 cents a barrel. Roberts seemed
surprised that the stock market didnt take the non-record news
more strongly: Even so, Wall Street managed a modest rally, he
said. He then introduced Jim Axelrods Cross Country Price
Patrol by warning viewers of record-high gas prices.
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Field of dreams:
Axelrod went to Iowa corn country and told viewers how much
local tourism is up because of higher gas prices. But he hammered
home the point how horrifying it really was by showcasing one
tourist who said the reason she was limiting her vacation was
Well, you can't take long trips. Her raving about the beautiful
view of the Mississippi River wasnt good enough for Axelrod who
added, That's the deal in this summer of compromise. He went on
to mock Iowa and show himself standing next to a miniature Statue
of Liberty, adding, Not that you can't see the Statue of Liberty,
right here, if you stand really close.