The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

CNBC anchor ‘Embarrassed’ by media obsession with Palin pregnancy; ABC, NBC tie hurricanes to global warming; Media error causes steep loss for United Airlines

September 10, 2008

The Good
     Sex and scandal sell, even during a presidential election. But that doesn't mean journalists have to be happy about media attacks on Bristol Palin for her pregnancy.

     CNBC's "Squawk Box" co-host Joe Kernan actually called the media on its attacks of Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter during the September 2 show.

     “You know as a member of the media I'm just kind of embarrassed with the media,” Kernan said. “The media says, ‘Yeah it [Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy] shouldn't matter, it's not going to matter, we're not going to cover it’ and then they put it on the cover of every paper.”

     Earlier in the broadcast Kernan told chief Washington correspondent John Harwood he did not think the family incidence was as big a deal as the media was making it out to be:

     “Felt a little bit like the guy in Casablanca, shocked, you know: teen sex in Alaska, John,” Kernan said. “Probably not that much of a shocker I guess, right? Not a whole lot. I guess bowling, yeah, It's a little lonely probably up there, right, John? ... I don't understand everybody at the same time saying that this is not going to be a big deal ... the press is going to be responsible about this, Barack Obama please don't make anything of this, but then it's the cover of every paper like it, you know, like matters.”

     CNBC conducted the most recent interview with Palin before it was announced she would be on the GOP ticket with Sen. John McCain. A few of the business network's staff have also jumped to Palin's defense amid negative media coverage.

     “Closing Bell” host Maria Bartiromo, who scored the most current interview with Palin after interviewing the governor for an upcoming CNBC special on energy, called her a "terrific choice."

The Bad
    An up tick in tropical weather served to be just another opportunity for ABC and NBC to hype global warming alarmism.

     Both the September 7 “NBC Nightly News” and ABC “World News Sunday” included segments that suggested the spike in named tropical storms in 2008 is due to climate change caused by mankind.

     “A succession of dangerous storms [is] leading some to wonder if global warming, caused by manmade carbon dioxide pollution, is making a bad situation worse,” NBC chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson said. “This is the theory: carbon dioxide raises the ocean’s temperature, both at and below the water’s surface, providing more fuel for any storm.”

     In a segment about the track of Hurricane Ike, ABC’s Dan Harris also seized an opportunity to tie the two phenomena together.

     “This has been an enormously active year for hurricanes,” Harris said. “And we’re still three days away from the peak of the season. Ike will be the sixth consecutive named storm to hit the U.S. That’s the first time that’s ever happened. And a new study published in the journal Nature says global warming could make future seasons even nastier.”

The Ugly
   Technological glitches can come with a high price tag – as United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAUA) found out on September 8.

     According to The Washington Post, a six-year-old Chicago Tribune article about the airline’s 2002 bankruptcy was archived without a date on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Web site.

      Income Securities Advisor posted the story as new and disseminated it through the Bloomberg Professional service – an “Intranet limited to subscribers.” The misinformation was passed on, causing United’s stock to plummet, according to BusinessWeek.com.

      “The light-speed wipeout is a powerful reminder of how quickly bad information can spread via the Internet to a trigger-happy Wall Street that is willing to dump millions in stock before checking the facts,” the Post said.

     United’s stock share price fell from its $12.30 closing price on Friday to one cent according to the NASDAQ stock ticker when trading was halted.

     Trading resumed that day, and by NASDAQ’s close the stock was down roughly 12 percent to close at $10.92.

     Tribune Co., which owns the Sun-Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune, said the story was in the archives section of the Web site.

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.