Media Faulted For Coverage Of The Economy

Study Finds Coverage Of Economic Downturn In U.S. Lags Behind Public Interest

(AP)  Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed more than 5,000 economic stories in 2007 and the first half of 2008. The stories, by 48 different news outlets, were delivered by cable news channels, network television, radio, newspapers and the Internet.

The study found that reliance on government data to track the economy is leading to scattershot coverage that, at times, lags months behind actual economic conditions.

"We can see little flashpoints in gas prices or a spike in joblessness but getting the whole picture is extremely difficult, in part because we're depending on government collected data, which could often be three months later," said Project Director Tom Rosenstiel.

At times, this has meant that reporters were writing about weakening economic trends at the very moment that conditions were starting to improve or vice versa.

Meanwhile, various media have focused on different aspects of the economy at different times. Television coverage has tended to focus on gas prices, while newspapers have leaned toward banking and housing stories.

As a result, it is difficult for the casual news consumer to understand the story of the economy, Rosenstiel said. "Is it a housing story? Is it a gasoline prices story? Is it an inflation story?"

The study also found that Americans' concern about the economy has far surpassed the media's focus on the topic. The economy has been the number 2 story of 2008 so far - ahead of the war in Iraq. But media coverage of the presidential race has outstripped economic coverage by a five-to-one margin, although the economy has ranked as Americans' top concern.

There are no easy ways to wean journalists from depending on government statistics, Rosenstiel said.

"We need to create other listening posts than the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics," he said.

"Overall, this is a hard story for journalists to tell because it isn't an event, it isn't a person," Rosenstiel said. "And yet, where they can get a handle on it, it's a story that people are eager to hear."

[frankbowers]

I am just curious has any thought of why this exist. First two or three men who are lackies for gw bush own 90 to 95% of all news and they only put put things that make the little squint eyed ba$ **** look good and the economy going to hel l in a hand basket would not be good for him. It is a disgrace to write and act as if they do not know why this is happening. SHAME ON THEM.

Frank Bowers of Austin, TX

[xlib]

The msm can be faulted for a lot of poor coverage. Face it, they cover what they want to cover and vice versa.

[oneworldusa]

The media may have helped create the recession. Once the R word is used, people start tightening up, we did. I lost 2 state jobs in the last 6 months due to budget cuts. So, I know what its like to be without an income at all. We get by on $50/week at the grocery store. I found a way to take the extra cost of gas and take it off our grocery and power bill, by sacrificing a little on each to keep our savings rate the same as before.

[apprxam]

Well, what the hell else should we expect from the media. I really have to search deep inside to try and remember when was the last time any corpo-media outlet had the public''s interest at heart.

Since 2006, I''ve heard nothing from the media except complaints about the internet, its draw to an ever expanding reader/viewership from them and its "high-noise" factor that they claim still validate them as the true gatekeeper with our interest in mind.

But every chance they''ve had to convince us otherwise, they''ve failed to take it.

[andor3]

"The propaganda system has been VERY quiet about all those CEO guys wanting Bush!!No wonder there is no confidence in the fools!"

An interesting point. Wonder if the fall of Bush and the neocons and the coming house cleaning in government will spill over into business? It would be nice to see shareholders start exerting control and punishing the incompetents in business as well as government. People who do nothing but shuffle paper are being paid millions while people who do real work struggle to eat... no wonder the economy is in trouble.

[eddom949]

People like that little area under the graph, might I suggest Calculus for those so inclined.

[babooph]

The propaganda system has been VERY quiet about all those CEO guys wanting Bush!!No wonder there is no confidence in the fools!!All that $ in pay,mainly due to them choosing the lobbyists to bribe the politicos!!

[babooph]

My favorite is the business channel lauding Forbes-the parasite inherits a fortune from his father-made when Ikes tax rate was triple what todays is-they have him whining about a flat tax of 10% he wants to pay, so he can hold onto it!!

[clestes-2009]

Anyone who depends on the mainstream US media for their news are completely ignorant of the true news. Everything they say is completely BS. They sold out to the shrub govn years ago.

[ubrew12]

a recent study examined every article on climate change published in peer-reviewed scientific journals over a 10-year period. Of the 928 articles on climate change, not one of them disagreed with the consensus position that climate change is happening or is human-induced.

These findings contrast dramatically with the ''liberal'' media''s reporting on climate change. One recent study analyzed coverage of climate change in four influential American newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, and Wall Street Journal) over a 14-year period. It found that more than HALF of the articles discussing climate change gave EQUAL WEIGHT to the scientifically discredited views of the skeptics.

Ya gotta just LUV that ''liberal'' media. Bush says, ''lets invade Iraq'', and they immediately hire as many Generals as they can find to make the case for war, calling them ''independent experts''... yah. And now our economy is going to pot and our media dont want to talk about it: how very ''liberal'' is that? The fiction of a ''liberal'' media is one of the great success stories the right has played on the American people in the last 20 years.