Media Downplay Extremely Strong November Jobs Report
A recent report published by the Gallup Organization stated: “a majority of U.S. investors continue to describe the current economy as being ‘in a slowdown’ or ‘recession’ as opposed to being ‘in a recovery’ or ‘sustained expansion.’” Regardless of continuously strong economic reports, such bearish assessments have been regularly portrayed by public opinion polls for several years. During this…
Sawyernomics: ABC Anchor Presses for Tax Hike for 'Thin Ice' Economy
“I know, Dan, the President’s giving a speech on the economy coming up, but there are people, including Alan Greenspan of the Fed, and also the GAO, the top auditor in the country, who have said with these deficits, these mounting deficits, it is simply hard to look at this economy as anything but on thin ice, no matter what. No new taxes?” -- Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer to Dan Bartlett,…
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…a Very Good Christmas
The media’s pessimistic holiday shopping forecasts fail to register with reality.Don't miss my latest at the Free Market Project: Contrary to the media’s pessimistic forecasts for the Christmas shopping season reported by the Free Market Project in late October, strong retail sales this Thanksgiving weekend got the annual end-of-the-year buying bonanza off to a bang. In fact, the economic data…
Media Myths: The Housing Bubble is Bursting
Don't miss my latest writing for the Free Market Project: Media claims about a “housing bubble” are nothing new. Since before the 9/11 terror attacks, the media have been calling the housing market a “bubble” while predicting an imminent, devastating decline. Not only have they been wrong in forecasting such a top, they have thoroughly mischaracterized what an investment bubble is. Now that the…
NYT Makes 'Yes, But' Economic Reporting an Art Form
You've come to Newsbusters because you want to see a concrete example of liberal bias. Who delivers that better than the New York Times? This is reality. We're 4 years out from the worst attack since Pearl Harbor, post dot-com crash, we've had more hurricanes than any year since some old man first started keeping track, and we just about had a major U.S. city -- an economically important city…
Strong Retail Numbers Buried Even As Actual Sales Blew Away Conservati
Strong "Black Friday" showings across America were given short shrift by the Washington Post this "Cyber Monday" which buried the story in a four-paragraph blurb on page A10 in the District and Maryland home edition. But not only were the numbers good in comparison to last year, they far surprassed the expectations of the National Retail Federation (NRF), the industry group which analyzes and…
Split Personality Disorder at the Associated Press: Economic News is G
For those who missed it, the Federal Open Market Committee released minutes from its November 1 meeting on Tuesday, and the stock market rallied as a result. Yet, depending upon which Associated Press story you read, you were either elated or despondent. For instance, the AP’s Michael J. Martinez began his report: “Stocks extended their rally yesterday after the Fed's latest take on the economy…
NY Times: “A Different Kind of Great Depression is Still Going On
In homes across this country that subscribe to the New York Times, Americans will wake up on Thanksgiving morning to be told that the land they love is still in some kind of Great Depression. Of course, unemployment is at 5 percent, more Americans own their own homes than ever in history, and the average citizen has a higher net worth – meaning…
NewsMax Calls NewsBusters Contributor “The Right’s Answer to Paul
A recent NewsMax piece (scroll down to article #2) gave high praise to yours truly. Please excuse the obviously shameless self-promotion, but I’m verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. “Noel Sheppard isn't pulling any punches these days. “Sheppard has become an increasingly popular economic guru, and he could well be the political right's answer to noted liberal pundit Paul Krugman of The New York…
USA Today's Gas Price Map
"Cheaper gas gets season rolling," trumpets the front page of the November 23 edition of USA Today, in a story that breaks the usual media template on "soaring" or "record" gas prices that the Free Market Project study documented in early November. USA Today's coverage of dropping gas prices continues on pages 8-9A with "Pump prices dip below $2 in some states; still up from '04," which is…