You’d think gas prices are high enough as it is. But for some reason, the NBC “Today” show needed to make prices seem even worse by showing a picture of a gas station with above-average prices.

     Co-host Ann Curry reported that “gasoline prices are up again. Today AAA said the average price for regular gas hit $3.80 a gallon.”

     But a viewer with the television on mute would have seen only video of a station with regular gas priced at $4.15 – 35 cents higher than the national average. Curry also added that, “in some cities it is much higher than [$3.80].”

     Inflating gas costs either by misstating statistics or showing stations with higher-than-average prices is a common occurrence on the network news shows. It’s part of a wider media trend of focusing on extreme examples that end up making the U.S. economy seem to be in worse shape than it actually is.