The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Medicare drug program a bitter pill; Bono still hasn’t found what he’s looking for; Good jobs report gets the sound of silence.

Feb. 8, 2006

     The Washington Times earns “The Good” award this week by exposing how the government’s Medicare prescription drug benefit is not only costly to taxpayers, but is proving painful to small pharmacies suffering a loss of cash flow from the program. ABC’s “World News Tonight” gives rock star Bono a platform to sing the praises of African aid, but doesn’t let critics sour his tune. Meanwhile, the media fail to strike up the band over good jobs numbers, even though they wailed dirges over corporate layoffs in 2005.

The Good
     Marguerite Higgins explored Medicare’s “Prescription for disaster” for small pharmacies in the February 6 Washington Times. The newly-enacted Medicare drug benefit apparently is a money-loser for small pharmacies which face a cash crunch waiting for government reimbursement for drugs dispensed to seniors on the plan. “The margins are so slim that even a few weeks behind payments can be devastating to these small businesses,” Higgins quoted National Community Pharmacists Association official Douglas Hoey.

The Bad
     A newsworthy sound bite from a rock music idol on a pressing world issue may be just the hook an evening news producer prays for, but it doesn’t excuse a lack of balance or thorough reporting. ABC News gave Irish rocker Bono a platform to call for the U.S. government to spend more taxpayer dollars on African aid. But instead of balancing the plug with a critic, ABC capped off Bono’s call with words of praise from President Bush calling Bono “an amazing guy.” The media’s unqualified boosterism for foreign aid was documented in a July 2005 Business & Media Institute study, “Crazy 8s.”

The Ugly
     The media have ignored or downplayed the government’s latest jobs report – 193,000 new jobs in January and the lowest unemployment rate since July 2001 – continuing a trend of misreporting on American employment that the Business & Media Institute (BMI) detailed in a January 2006 report.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly tracks the best and worst media coverage of business and economics. Readers are invited to submit suggestions or news tips to staff writer Ken Shepherd at kshepherd@mediaresearch.org.