All three broadcast networks last night reported on the Dow record high, pointing to falling oil prices as a reason for the latest market rally.
But the market's been heading on an upward trend for years, throughout climbing oil prices and the media's persistent pessimism on the economy.
Of the three networks, I found CBS had the most negatively-slanted coverage, and NONE of the big three gave any thought to the Bush tax cuts being a catalyst for economic growth.
For my full story, check out the MRC's BusinessandMedia.org.
Here's an excerpt:
While CBS’s Anthony Mason offered qualified praise for the market’s recent rally, he sowed seeds of doubt about the market’s strength. Mason highlighted a retiree who “doesn’t trust this new rally” and then warned that “some Wall Street analysts see another bubble in the economy” with real estate.
The business reporter opened his story with the good news. “It took nearly seven years for the closing bell to ring in a new high for the Dow, but Wall Street was hardly going wild,” he told viewers. Then he aired a market analyst who downplayed the new record and compared it to a tied baseball game.
Mason helped him out, further undercutting the good news. "But while the Dow’s finally recovered, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is still worth less than half what it was six years ago," he added.
That wasn’t all. Mason made it clear that some were "suspicious" about the market. "She’s not alone," he said of one retiree who was still worried about the economy. "With existing home prices falling for the first time in more than a decade, and a new study showing homeowners spending more and more of their incomes on housing costs, some Wall Street analysts see another bubble in the economy."
