This Just In – Gas Prices Are High

By: Vaughn Ververs
Topics: In The News

(AP Photo)

Hey, have you heard the big news – the price of gas is very high. No, really, it is, I'm not kidding. What's that you say? Anyone who's actually breathing at the moment knows that? Well, then, why does the press keep repeating it over and over and over again?

Seriously, I'm of two minds on the subject. The rising price of oil obviously is a big story with major ramifications for the country and the world. Oil, and the world's dependence on it, is clearly an issue that runs through just about every major problem we struggle with today – from war to the environment. And the price of energy is something that affects us as individuals in a very direct way. So one can hardly argue this is a subject that can be ignored.

But is the press guilty of a little overkill when it comes to covering gas prices? There are plenty of legitimate angles to it – oil company profits, explaining the reasons behind spiraling prices, re-examination of alternative fuels, government action, etc. But those issues sometimes seem overwhelmed by all those "price-at-the-pump" headlines and reports about something almost everyone knows – the price at the pump. (The CBS "Evening News" kicks off a series next week called "Eye on the Road.") It's getting hard to have a casual neighborhood conversation these days without talking about who paid what where for gas that day. Does a media fixation add anything?

With all the different angles to this topic, we'll almost certainly be addressing coverage of it quite a bit in the future. To get things started it's worth a discussion of whether or not the media is fixated on the right thing. Any opinions out there?