The Skinny: The Governator Flexes His Muscles
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, FILE)
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January 9, 2007 10:00 AM The Skinny Today: The Governator grabs headlines for his healthcare plan while doctors and insurers have coronaries over it. Plus, President Bush makes plans to sell his Iraq plan, while the country continues to disapprove of his handling of the war. Also, Manhattan smells funny.
May 8, 2006 12:55 PM 
Well, the phrase certainly is – as you can see here, and here, and here, oh and here. Got that? Pain at the pump. Everyone’s PO’d. Well, actually, maybe not. The New York Times’ Daniel Gross suggested as much yesterday, by citing some numbers that indicate just how PO’d consumers generally are about high prices. And those numbers revealed that the pump wasn’t so much of a pain for most:
Pain At The Pump Not Actually So Prolific?
(AP Photo/Lancaster New Era)
Last week, the Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index for April hit its highest level since May 2002. "The rising prices on the pump didn't have an impact on consumer confidence at all," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.
These data point to the enormous resilience of the consumer. But they also bring into focus a truism lost in the miasma of media coverage and political rhetoric surrounding energy: while the price of gasoline may be highly visible and symbolic, filling up the tank simply doesn't eat up that much of most families' budgets.
April 28, 2006 3:30 PM 
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?
This Just In – Gas Prices Are High
(AP Photo)
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?
Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
