Economic Reporting Through Red-colored Glasses
By Chris Weinkopf

It was a typical early morning at CBS News, with plenty of light banter and toothy cheer. But there was a problem— the stupid economy.

 

“The Early Show” was covering a speech President Bush had given about impressive new job-creation figures. “This economy is strong,” Bush stated. “Businesses are booming. And the people in this country are working.”

 

The establishment media’s preferred storyline is that the economy thrives when Democrats are in the White House. When Republicans are in power, it’s time to do stories on homelessness and unemployed steelworkers.

 

Unfortunately, Bush seemed to have the facts on his side. America had marked ten consecutive quarters of economic growth, with a blistering 4.3 percent increase in the third quarter of 2005. Unemployment, inflation, and interest rates were down, while homeownership, housing starts, wages, disposable income, the stock market, and consumer confidence were up.

 

All of which had hostess Hannah Storm blowing like a hurricane. Determined to find the dark cloud amidst these silver linings, she brought on CNN’s financial meteorologist, Lou Dobbs, for “an economic reality check.”

 

“You know,” Storm began, “the President touted a lot of numbers.... But is he on track? Is the economy strong?”

 

Dobbs briefly conceded that “the economy is, in point of fact, strong.” Then he quickly returned to the media playbook, warning of “serious weaknesses” just out of sight.

 

This seemingly odd behavior is, in fact, quite common. Throughout the establishment press, today’s positive economic news is delivered with knitted brows and multiple disclaimers. One New York Times reporter unwittingly betrayed the game with his remark that, “For every encouraging sign, there is an explanation.” A Los Angeles Times writer warned Bush that “an overly rosy portrayal might give the impression that he is out of touch.”

 

Back to the Storm-Dobbs interview, which illustrates the spin perfectly. After getting the good news out of the way, Hannah hit up Lou with five consecutive questions. Here are all five:

 

• What about these...huge job losses incurred by the auto industry?

 

• Let me ask you about...gas prices. Even though they’ve fallen considerably, they’re still up.

• Oil has also dropped 20 percent since that post-Katrina crunch. But there’s really high anxiety about heating bills.

• How is all of this affecting consumer confidence?

• Alan Greenspan...warned us about… the federal deficit and just how serious that might be...so what’s the bottom line?

 

All in all, Storm seemed to be driving at one simple question: Tell me, Lou, why all the financial data are wrong, and the American economy is actually heading down the drain?

 

For the media, the Bush economy is an ignorant marketplace that doesn’t seem to understand that recovery can’t begin until President Hillary Clinton takes office in 2009.

 

As justification for their gloomy reporting, establishment news organizations invariably cite public opinion. Storm, for example, set up her Dobbs interview by noting that “even though the economy has been gaining strength, recent polls suggest that most Americans are still pessimistic about our country’s financial future.”

 

That’s true—in November, for instance, while economists and business leaders were celebrating one of the best expansions in decades, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52 percent of Americans thought the economy was getting worse, while only 18 percent thought it was getting better. That stands to reason, though—it’s exactly the tale most reporters have been peddling.

 

Storm and her fellow critics can’t blot out the sun forever, though. At some point, people look past the news and into their wallets. The December ABC News/Washington Post economic poll found 45 percent of respondents feeling positive—a 10 percent increase from November.

 

Those are numbers every American should welcome. But since they also reflect well on George Bush, rest assured that ways will yet be found to darken our economic horizon.

 

 

Chris Weinkopf, a contributing writer for The American Enterprise, is editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Daily News.