Joseph Rossell is a staff writer for the Media Research Center's Business division. He received his Master's in International Commerce & Policy in July, 2014, from George Mason University's School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. He received his Bachelor's in Economics in January 2012, also from George Mason University.

Latest from Joseph Rossell
December 22, 2014, 2:32 PM EST

Subtracting state and federal taxes and fees on gasoline, the price of a gallon of gas would fall below $2 in 29 states, according to data published by the American Petroleum Institute in October 2014, and by AAA. AAA said the national average for gas dropped to $2.394 per gallon on Dec. 22. while the average state and federal gas taxes and fees averaged a whopping 49.28 cents-per-gallon, or more than 20 percent of the total price.

Those gas taxes, which are hidden by being incorporated into the pump price of gasoline, also went unmentioned by the broadcast network evening shows from Sept. 29 to Dec. 21.

December 17, 2014, 2:58 PM EST

A class action suit filed by families of Sandy Hook shooting victims could “go nowhere” because of a 2005 law protecting gun makers, but that crucial point was ignored in most network stories about the lawsuit.

A lawyer representing the families of ten victims of the horrible school shooting that took place in Newtown, Conn., two years ago announced a lawsuit on December 15 against Bushmaster. Bushmaster was the company that produced a gun Adam Lanza used in the shooting.

December 17, 2014, 2:12 PM EST

Networks overlook 2005 law that limits lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

December 12, 2014, 10:56 AM EST

The broadcast networks may not want to give credit to hydraulic fracturing for increasing U.S. oil production and lowering global oil prices, but at least one angry world leader did just that.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro complained that fracking in the U.S. has “flooded” the world market and contributed to lower oil prices, a connection that broadcast networks’ evening news reports barely made recently.

December 11, 2014, 4:40 PM EST

As gas prices have plummeted, cost savings arguments for hybrid cars took a hit making them a less attractive option.

Bloomberg Businessweek suggested Toyota must hope prospective buyers of their Prius hybrid “don’t pull out a calculator,” since its higher price tag means it takes many years to make it a better deal than other cars. The magazine said December 10, that even though a Toyota Prius consumes less fuel than an economy car like the Chevy Cruze, its price tag is significantly higher.

December 11, 2014, 4:00 PM EST

Lower gas prices mean Toyota Prius ‘is for drivers who stink at math.’

December 11, 2014, 1:05 PM EST

Thanks in part to the widespread use of technologies like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, global oil prices plummeted in 2014. Energy experts even predicted the U.S. could be the top oil producer in the next several years.

While even President Barack Obama recently hinted at his support for hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, the broadcast networks often portrayed it negatively. Between Sept. 29 and Dec. 8, the networks’ evening news shows stories about oil and gas largely ignored fracking’s contribution to lower prices

December 5, 2014, 10:56 AM EST

New and expensive federal regulations stemming from Obamacare that will require many restaurants publish calorie counts probably won’t have much impact on patrons’ food choices, experts told The Huffington Post.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 25 that “chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations” must post calorie counts on their menus or menu boards. The new rules were required by a provision in the Affordable Care Act.

December 2, 2014, 4:40 PM EST

Liberal politicians often get a free pass from the media when they receive millions in support from billionaire activists like Tom Steyer. But when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, associates with pro-Israel donors and activists, liberal bloggers call this a "political nightmare."

AlterNet criticized Cruz in an article December 1 for being overly pro-Israel. Cruz was reportedly "courting" conservative billionaire Sheldon Adelson and "a wide set of pro-Israel extremists in New York City."

November 29, 2014, 7:55 AM EST

Who would win in a media battle between a multi-billion dollar corporation and a watchdog blogger? According to a former Reagan staffer, when it comes to impacting public perception, social activists “have become more powerful than ever,” while large organizations “are shockingly vulnerable.”

Eric Dezenhall offered this perspective in his new book, “Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal,” published by TWELVE. Based on his 30-plus years’ experience in crisis management and public relations, including some time with the Reagan administration, Dezenhall concluded, “It’s a lot easier to light a forest fire than it is to put one out.”

November 26, 2014, 4:19 PM EST

The Grinch stole Christmas, and liberals have been trying to steal Thanksgiving. 

Liberals are always looking for a platform to push their economic policies and bash capitalism via the media. Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for them to do both. Leading up to Turkey Day, liberals have consistently discovered inventive avenues for attacking businesses and philosophies they don’t like while promoting their left-wing policies.

November 24, 2014, 4:56 PM EST

The Obama administration has already wasted nearly $1 trillion of stimulus money that was supposed to go toward “shovel ready” construction projects and create millions of jobs. Now special interest says it needs “hundreds of billions of dollars” more to prevent an infrastructure catastrophe.

CBS’s “60 Minutes” claimed in a segment on Nov. 23 that the federal government needed to increase taxes, especially the gas tax, by billions of dollars to fund supposedly vital transportation projects. By doing so, the popular news magazine show followed the broadcast news networks’ long-standing practice of supporting massive spending increases favored by the transportation industry.

November 20, 2014, 12:33 PM EST

Left-wing website AlterNet declared pets “Public Enemy Number Two,” just days after one of its writers shamed moms as “environmental villains” for having children.

AlterNet, which is known for its kooky posts, has stirred liberal guilt and promoted climate alarmism many times. But many animals lovers would be outraged by the article that went after pets because of their “surprising negative impact” on temperatures and for pushing the world toward “climate catastrophe.”

November 20, 2014, 11:20 AM EST

Left-wing website decries pets’ massive ‘carbon paw prints.’

November 19, 2014, 10:18 AM EST

“Bad publicity” was the reason a Washington Post writer came up with to explain Americans’ dislike of Obamacare, ignoring recent negative news about enrollment and rate increases.

Catherine Rampell, an opinion writer with The Washington Post, argued that “most Americans” who got insurance through Obamacare exchanges were “happy” with it. Of course, she failed to ask why the government had to lower its estimate for how many would enroll in 2015 and news reports of rising premiums.

November 18, 2014, 4:47 PM EST

First it was just conservatives who were accused of doing the bidding of the Koch brothers. Now a radical climate change alarmist is accusing Senate Democrats of “trying to build them [the Koch brothers] a pet project,” the Keystone XL pipeline.

Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth, ranted against Democrats and Republicans alike in a Huffington Post op-ed on November 17, 2014. According to Pica, Democrats need to take “the just, responsible and moral stance” against fossil fuels and to stop being “more concerned with politics than the planet.” Besides environmental activism, Friends of the Earth takes a stance against free market capitalism.

November 17, 2014, 9:36 AM EST

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s deal to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both countries couldn’t have come at a more ironic time.

Their Nov. 11, announcement came just days before the fifth anniversary of ClimateGate, which cast a pall over the credibility of major climate research institutions. On Nov. 17, 2009, it was discovered that hundreds of emails and files were either hacked or leaked from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia (UEA). According to Roger Pielke, Jr., months before ClimateGate, CRU admitted it did not have the raw data its climate science is based on.

November 14, 2014, 2:41 PM EST

Climate science programmer’s HARRY_READ_ME file shows frustration, lack of training, missing data.

November 14, 2014, 2:14 PM EST

Leaked ClimateGate emails prompt Minnesotans for Global Warming to ridicule prominent global warming alarmist.

November 14, 2014, 11:02 AM EST

First Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, compared net neutrality to “Obamacare for the Internet,” and now outspoken businessman Mark Cuban has tweeted that President Barack Obama’s proposed policy is something “straight out of Ayn Rand.”

Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Maverick and numerous entertainment outlets, tweeted a series of comments about net neutrality on November 13. (Tweets are below.) The tweets centered on comparing net neutrality to the extreme overreaches of government authority depicted by pro-capitalist author and philosopher Ayn Rand in such novels as “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.”