From one man’s ‘Assault on Wall Street,’ to eco-anarchists, to illusionists robbing banks, anti-business ideals live on ... screen.
Latest from Julia A. Seymour
May 31, 2013, 3:51 PM EDT
May 23, 2013, 11:59 AM EDT
Recent college grads are in a tough spot, with student loans that need repayment and an economy that is leaving many of them underemployed or worse. But the network news media have exaggerated individual burdens of student debt by using examples of enormous rather than average debts. They’ve also often ignored systemic problems that have led to the “crisis” of student loan defaults, at the same time that the left has called for bailouts.
When network news stories include college students who talk about how much they owe for their education, the average amount was a whopping $66,833. But the 2012 average student loan debt, was much lower: $27,253.
May 8, 2013, 2:46 PM EDT
Ecuadorian villagers are upset and ready to fight to protect their rainforest homeland, from the government of Ecuador which has “launched a new oil boom,” according to NBC’s Ann Curry. But Curry turned this battle into an attack on the U.S. and Texaco, now owned by Chevron.
April 15, 2013, 3:59 PM EDT
Several years ago, CBS’s “60 Minutes,” CNN and The New York Times tarred Chevron with biased reporting about a lawsuit between the oil company and an “eco-radical” group called Amazon Defense Coalition (ADC).
April 10, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its public statement on bisphenol A, a chemical commonly found in some plastics as well as can linings, in March 2013. The FDA’s “current perspective on BPA” is that the chemical is “safe” at the exposure levels from product packaging.
Their position is based on “hundreds of studies including the latest findings from new studies initiated by the agency,” the FDA website said. ABC, CBS and NBC have not reported the FDA update, and aired three stories critical of BPA in March 2013 on NBC’s “Today” and “Dateline” and CBS’s “This Morning.”
The March 29 “Today” show aired a segment about healthy and natural groceries with Miranda Van Gelder of Prevention magazine.Van Gelder said people should avoid BPA coatings and cans because of BPA. Neither Hoda Kotb, nor Kathie Lee Gifford told viewers that the FDA has said such packaging is safe.
April 3, 2013, 1:59 PM EDT
Dr. Frank DeStefano studied over 1,000 children; found no vaccine-autism connection.
April 1, 2013, 10:14 AM EDT
Sometimes liberal bias goes so far it actually becomes absurd, like Roseanne Barr saying that she would bring back the guillotine in order to behead any rich people who wanted to keep more than $100 million of their own money. She set the bar (or the guillotine) higher than her $80 million net worth. But it wasn’t just extreme left-wing celebs like Roseanne and Michael Moore, news anchors and hosts have spewed anti-business, anti-wealth, or anti-capitalism nonsense too.
The Business and Media Institute hunted down some of the most outrageous anti-business, anti-wealth, or anti-capitalism comments by news and entertainment media people in the past year and came up with this list of eight individuals. After all, it is April Fools Day.
March 13, 2013, 2:53 PM EDT
“Large sugary drinks” got a reprieve this week after a judge struck down New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on drinks above a certain size and in only some dining establishments. But sugar is still under attack according to Advertising Age magazine.
The cover story of the magazine’s March 11, 2013, issue was headlined “Public Enemy No. 1,” and warned marketers to “beware” because “sugar may be the next regulatory target.”
March 5, 2013, 9:39 AM EST
Comparison shows NBC News far less willing to report soaring gas prices under Obama.
February 7, 2013, 11:20 AM EST
Gas prices are at record highs for the time of year, and took a bigger bite out of household income last year than in decades, yet the topic has taken just a fraction of the broadcast network news programs’ time.
“The Energy Department’s statistical arm reported Monday that the average household spent $2,912 for gasoline in 2012, which makes up almost 4 percent of pre-tax income, tying 2008 for the highest percentage in roughly 30 years,” The Hill’s Ben Geman wrote on Feb. 4.
January 31, 2013, 1:53 PM EST
Economic activity in the U.S., turned negative in the fourth quarter of 2012 according to the Commerce Department, just one day after a huge drop in consumer confidence was announced.
This took the media entirely by surprise. It was the first time the economy went into negative territory since the recession ended. But this significant report was completely ignored by NBC “Nightly News,” carefully danced around on ABC “World News” and downplayed on CBS “Evening News” on Jan. 30. Print outlets also downplayed the news by claiming it was “not so bad.” [Video available below]
January 30, 2013, 4:29 PM EST
NTU's Pete Sepp says income tax made way for 'massive fiscal expansion' of government.
January 30, 2013, 2:03 PM EST
Consumer confidence plummeted in January to a 14-month low of 58.6. The Conference Board announced the drop on Jan. 29 and cited a tax hike as the reason for the 8.1 point drop, but the bad news got no mention on the evening network news programs that night. Instead ABC joyfully reported good news on the economy.
“World News with Diane Sawyer” led its broadcast with an upbeat story about the housing market. David Muir actually mentioned consumer confidence in his story on the housing “comeback” of rising home values, but not the drop. As he discussed the housing story with Diane Sawyer he actually said that good home news boosts consumer confidence. Neither he, nor Sawyer seized that opportunity to mention the latest confidence data that had been released that very day.
January 29, 2013, 7:00 AM EST
100 years after the income tax liberal anchors still support tax increases.
January 10, 2013, 10:38 AM EST
The left must think Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is a magician, since they think funds to evade the debt ceiling can be conjured up in the form of a platinum coin.
The left-wing blogosphere has been promoting a loony idea to prevent the GOP from being able to cut spending in debt ceiling negotiations. The idea has gained traction with a Bloomberg News contributor and well-known liberal economist Paul Krugman, and being heavily promoted by sites like Huffington Post. So many people are talking about it that it has a twitter hashtag: #mintthecoin.
January 4, 2013, 10:23 AM EST
“No more tax revenue! None. NONE.”
That was not the cry of a dyed-in-the-wool conservative politician. Rather it was Jim Cramer, CNBC’s own host of “Mad Money,” speaking to the upcoming fight in Washington over the debt ceiling. [See video after the jump]
January 3, 2013, 5:20 PM EST
On day of the deal only one of the network morning and evening shows mentioned the hefty cost of the deal because of the lack of spending cuts.
December 19, 2012, 2:22 PM EST
For many Americans, ABC, NBC and CBS are the major source of news on business and the economy. Unfortunately, this is like depending on the middle school student newspaper for information about important local school board deliberations.
Network reporters are either ill-prepared to discuss complex issues of economics, finance and business or choose to be advocates for viewpoints rather than objective reporters who strive for balance. Liberal preferences for government solutions and interventionism as well as hostility toward wealth and profit dominate network coverage.
December 17, 2012, 3:20 PM EST
Less than a week after Great Britain lifted its ban on hydraulic fracturing, there is more news that will make fracking opponents unhappy. AXS television, formerly HDNet, has agreed to air the film “FrackNation” next month.
“FrackNation,” a film by investigative journalist Phelim McAleer, will be broadcast on Jan. 22, 2012 at 9 p.m. ET according to The Hollywood Reporter. AXS TV is a cable network owned by Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest and entertainment companies AEG and CAA.
December 17, 2012, 2:37 PM EST
Filmmaker Phelim McAleer’s movie which he says ‘tells the truth about fracking’ will debut on television Jan. 22.