The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
CNBC’s Burnett provides balanced perspective on usual dismal economy coverage; NBC’s Thompson rails against coal over climate change – again; Post business columnist hopes financial markets 'burn, baby, burn.'

February 27, 2008

The Good

     One of the media’s favorite battle cries during this election cycle has been the recycled James Carville one-liner, “It’s the economy, stupid.” However, focusing attention strictly on the economy might be a gross oversimplification for any campaign strategy.

     According CNBC’s Erin Burnett, despite housing woes and higher energy prices, there are some positive things going on in economy that are often overlooked.

     “[Y]ou could also look at unemployment,” Burnett said on MSNBC’s February 26 “Morning Joe.” “It has risen a little bit but it is still at an amazingly low rate historically. Wages are growing. You can see there are positive things out there that might indicate we’re in not a recession right now. It’s hard to tell. The bottom line is it’s hard to tell, we won't know.”

     Although there is disagreement about the effectiveness and long-term consequences of an economic stimulus package President George W. Bush signed into law earlier this month, Burnett also referenced that as a source of optimism.

     “But, I think one thing that might be significant, in addition to Federal Reserve rate cuts is actually the stimulus package that we got out of Washington,” Burnett continued. “If those checks arrive in early May and are spent, that might be something that does significantly help. Some estimates are that could add rather significantly to economic growth in the second quarter – so the jury’s out.”

The Bad

     Global warming alarmist Anne Thompson has shown a propensity for having little regard for economic reality.

     Thompson offered viewers on the February 21 broadcast of the "NBC Nightly News" a variety of reasons why building a badly-needed coal-fired power plant in an isolated part of Nevada is a bad idea.

     "Critics say emissions are exactly the issue, because coal-fired power is the nation's biggest producer of CO₂ emissions," Thompson said in a February 21 report from Ely, Nev. "That's why Nevada is in the center of this fight. The Ely energy center, which would sit in this valley, along with the other two proposed coal-fired plants, could more than double those greenhouse gas emissions, sending another 31 million tons into the sky."

     What's solution does Thompson find more appropriate? Try unreasonable and inefficient wind and solar power.

     "But it's [coal] also more polluting than solar power or wind power," Thompson said to Steve Miller, president of Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) – an advocacy group that supports building more coal-fired plants.

     According to Thompson's "Our Planet" series report, the plant would bring 150 jobs and millions in tax dollars for Ely, Nev. That would be a shot in the arm for the Nevada economy – especially as it is getting rocked by the subprime fallout.

     Such a project would be a big deal for the Ely economy alone. It's hard to imagine any wind or solar power project bringing that sort of economic development to Ely. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 11.3 percent of the city's families live below the poverty line, compared to a 9.2 percent national average.

The Ugly

     The financial sector must “burn, baby, burn” to teach financial professionals a lesson about priorities and motives, according to a reporter-turned-columnist for The Washington Post.

     Steven Pearlstein, a one-time reporter for the Post who now pens a column for the newspaper, wrote February 20 that “the best thing that could happen to our economy is for a dozen high-profile hedge funds to collapse; for investment banking to enter a long, deep freeze; for a major bank to fail; and for the price of a typical Park Avenue duplex to fall by 30 percent.”

     “For only then,” Pearlstein wrote, “might we finally stop genuflecting before the altar of unregulated financial markets and insist that Wall Street serve the interest of Main Street, rather than the other way around.”

     He didn’t explain how hedge funds collapsing or banks failing would help Americans. Instead, he opted to cheer for a situation that would see millions of people suffer, admitting his was a “harsh and vengeful solution, and there will be lots of collateral damage.”

     Pearlstein admitted to having a “perverse satisfaction from the ever-widening crisis that has engulfed Wall Street, humbling its hypocrisy and corruption” and criticized “the obscene levels of compensation [financial wizardry] has generated for a select group of Wall Street executives and money managers.”

     That a self-described “responsible business columnist for a respected newspaper” would engage in such blatant – and acknowledged – “schadenfreude“ is simply breathtaking. Unfortunately Pearlstein, a former reporter himself, represents the views expressed by many of his media colleagues.

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 Jeff Poor at jpoor@mediaresearch.org.