The Picture of Hype
Networks show exaggerated video of
highest gas prices, hyping daily increases but glossing over the
recent steady decline.
Inflation is a dirty word in business reporting except when its
the journalists themselves doing the inflating.
In the recent Katrina-driven gas scare,
network news shows pumped up actual gas prices an average of 75
cents higher than any states gas taxes. Prices shown on the
screen were up to $3.25 higher than the national average for the
days gas. On the other hand, when prices started dropping after
Labor Day, the networks daily price patrols were scarce.
NBC was the worst offender, with prices
shown averaging $1.01 higher than the national price. The networks
Anne Thompson said on the August 31 Nightly News that no matter
what kind of gas is sold, today its now unbelievably expensive.
Though the national average that day was $2.62, Thompson showed the
unbelievably expensive backdrop of $3.49 for regular.
On ABC the same night, Charles Gibson
proclaimed that gas was approaching $4 a gallon in some places.
Reporter Dean Reynolds story was filled with gas lines, localized
price spikes and one analyst who said $5 gas was the worst-case
scenario that were hearing out there. Reynolds, like Thompson,
stood in front of a sign advertising $3.49 for regular 87 cents
higher per gallon than the average price.
A Business & Media Institute analysis of nightly
broadcast news shows in the two weeks around Katrinas impact found
the video showing prices an average of 75 cents higher than the
national average at the time. Four out of five images showed gas
prices higher than the actual price for gasoline. CBSs pictured
prices averaged 89 cents higher and ABCs 48 cents higher.
The Business & Media Institute analyzed 30 gas
price stories around Hurricane Katrina, which included 46 images of
gas signs. Those stories fell in the week of and the week after the
storm, between August 22 and September 3, on the CBS Evening News,
ABCs World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News. Prices shown on
the screen were compared with the national average for regular gas
for that day, according to AAAs Fuel Gauge Report.
During that time period, the national
average for regular gas rose about 26 cents to $2.87. But even when
reporters stated the actual average in their stories, they showed
footage of much higher prices. The reporting of extreme prices was
far from balanced prices shown were higher than the average 80
percent of the time. Only one-fifth of the prices shown were lower
than the average. Rather than showing where people could find the
countrys cheapest gas, journalists focused on where the most
expensive gas was, fueling fears of gas lines and shortages.
CBS showed one stations sign where gas was
$5.87 per gallon when the national average was more than $3 cheaper
at $2.62. NBC showed prices as high as $3.99 and $4.47 when the
national average was only $2.71 per gallon. NBC did not show any
prices lower than the average during the analysis time period.
Of course, reporters were talking while
images flashed across the screen. Sometimes, journalists
stated the national average in their reports, but the spoken word
was overshadowed by visuals of much higher prices. The September 1
CBS Evening News had Bob Schieffer quoting the national average at
$2.68, but then he said that in some places it jumped a whole lot
more. Jim Axelrods report followed from Atlanta, Ga., where he
said post-Katrina youve got gas prices spiking big time here in
Atlanta and in much of the country. Axelrod contrasted two gas
station owners one who promised to keep his price for regular
below $3, and another who had briefly raised his price for regular
to $5.87. The latter stated that he wanted to stop people buying it
for a while. Axelrod, indignant at the mans use of the free market
to stave off a shortage, pressed him: So you couldnt just go out
and put a sign up that says No more gas today?
The August 25 CBS Evening News took a
more lighthearted approach but communicated the same exaggeration.
It featured a Texas station that was having a little fun with its
gas price listings. Its sign had a picture of an arm and a leg, as
well as your first born, in the price slots beside the different
gasoline grades. (That graphical price was not included in the
analysis.)
Declining prices arent such big news
In recent months, the networks have covered
daily increases in gas prices, frequently citing record highs that
werent when prices were adjusted for inflation. TheBusiness & Media Institute has
documented this reporting trend extensively. The combination of
Katrinas impact on the oil and gas markets with holiday traveling
demands pushed the national average above $3 per gallon on Labor Day
weekend. But prices started falling shortly thereafter and were back
below $3 by the following weekend.
In contrast to the constant coverage of
rising prices, the networks gave only passing mention to falling
prices. When prices declined steadily for nine working days in a row
a 25-cent drop from September 8 to September 20 the daily price
updates vanished. The September 20 price of $2.79 was 27 cents below
the recent high.
That didnt stop ABCs Terry Moran from
introducing a September 18 World News Tonight report in these
days of soaring gas prices. And Matt Lauer, on NBCs September 16
Today, bemoaned the countrys price tags, including gas prices
so high.
In fact, the CBS Evening News was the
only nightly news show that admitted the declining trend. John
Roberts alluded to it on the September 9 broadcast, noting that the
price started falling this week, ever so slowly, and is now $3.02.
On September 12, Bob Schieffer said the price of gasoline is slowly
coming down, adding that gas is down now to a national average
$2.96 for self-serve regular. Schieffer mentioned it again on the
September 19 show, which included a chart showing gasolines rise
and fall. He said gasoline has now given up more than half its
post-Katrina gain. The nationwide average price is down to $2.81 a
gallon.
