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Media Promote Myth of Clinton Golden Years, Hype His New Economic Book

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Paul Wilson

Former President Bill Clinton is making headlines again, this time touting his liberal prescriptions to fix the economy. Those remedies are laid out his new book "Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy." The news media is doing their part to promote Clinton's work and his economic legacy, portraying him as the economic savior of America.

Here We Go Again: Networks Back Obama 'Replay' on Infrastructure Spending, Stimulus

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:45:00 +0000

Julia A. Seymour

Just like in Groundhog Day when Bill Murray wakes up to the same day each and every morning, it appears Americans will feel a frustrating sense of déjà vu listening to President Obama's jobs speech on Sept. 8.

CNBC's Santelli Right, 'Experts' Wrong; Unemployment Spikes to 9.1%

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:04:00 +0000

Julia A. Seymour

CNBC panelists and guests always make predictions in the minutes leading up to the Labor Department's release of the jobs report and June 3 was no exception.

While economists Diane Swonk and Mark Zandi and CNBC's own Steve Liesman all made predictions of job gains between 100,000 and 150,000 - Rick Santelli threw his own lower prediction in just seconds before the announcement: 55,000. (Video available here)

Stimulus Two Years Later, Networks Ignore Obama's Failed Job Promise

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Iris Somberg

Executive Summary

Just a few years ago, double-digit unemployment seemed like a crazy idea. But when the economy began to stumble, it was fear of high unemployment and a promise to prevent it that the Obama administration used to usher in the $787 billion stimulus package. As The New York Times reported on Oct. 22, 2009, "The Obama administration's forecast at the start of the year, which predicted that unemployment would not climb much above 8 percent."

The Media's Top 10 Worst Economic Myths of 2009

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Julia A. Seymour

Each year the Business & Media Institute looks back on the year's news and selects the top 10 worst economic myths. Here is our 2009 list:

10. CBS, NY Times Support Ecuadorian Shakedown of U.S. oil company

9. Media Fail to Scrutinize Obama’s Job Claims

8. Government Stimulus is the Answer to Our Economic Problems

7. No Tax Increases for the Middle Class

6. The Recession was Over … by July.

5. Cash for Clunkers was a ‘Success’

Couric: 'Incredible Shrinking Rebate' May Not Be Enough

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:54:02 +0000

Jeff Poor

After lobbying hard for the government to intervene in an economic slowdown, some in the media are now questioning whether the federal economic stimulus package is enough.

“CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric warned viewers on April 28 the rebate checks “may not do all that much” because of inflation concerns.

$168-Billion Stimulus 'Too Little, Too Late,' Says Burnett on NBC

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:21:43 +0000

Nathan Burchfiel

The U.S. Congress on Thursday approved a $168-billion “economic stimulus” plan that will issue tax rebate checks to millions of taxpayers. The plan, which exceeded original expectations of $145 billion, provided the media with another opportunity to question – not whether the stimulus would do any good, but whether it was big enough.

Countrywide CEO Gives Up $37.5 Million; 'American Morning' Complains It's Not 'Fair'

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:10:13 +0000

Jeff Poor

You might think giving up $37.5 million in pay would win a businessman a little favor from the media. As far as CNN’s “American Morning” goes – not this time.

Countrywide Financial’s Angelo Mozilo is stepping down as the beleaguered mortgage lender’s CEO. Mozilo is giving up $37.5 million in severance pay because he said he felt it was the “right thing to do.”

Networks Cheer: 'The Check Is in the Mail,' 'Cash Is on the Way'

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:26:11 +0000

Jeff Poor

There’s an old saying – “Congress never touches anything they don’t hurt,” but you would never know that might be the case by the glowing reception the $150-billion taxpayer-funded stimulus plan got from each of the network newscasts last night.

Lauer Fears 'Rich' Might Get Some Tax Relief

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:22:12 +0000

Nathan Burchfiel

As President Bush and Congress hammer out a stimulus package to boost the slowing economy, “Today” show host Matt Lauer is working hard to ensure that the biggest contributors to the nation’s tax base won’t benefit.

CNN About-Face on CEOs: Higher Pay OK If Stock Is Doing Well

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 22:56:49 +0000

Jeff Poor

“America’s CEOs are raking in big, huge, fat wads of cash,” said CNN’s Stephanie Elam on the June 11 “American Morning.”

The latest scrutiny of executive compensation took a stab at Yahoo! (NasdaqGS: YHOO) CEO Terry Semel’s pay, based on a recent Associated Press story.