The Bias In The Media, Update

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The Free Market Project has done a study of “the Dan Rather of the financial world”, Mr. Lou Dobbs: (h/t Pros and Cons)

CNN promotes ?Lou Dobbs Tonight? as ?news, debate and opinion.? But it doesn?t explain that Dobbs defines those words his own unique way. ?News? is often economic distortions presented as fact. ?Debate? doesn?t always mean that both sides get to comment. And, for Dobbs, opinion is something injected into every aspect of a news report.

Dobbs heads an hour-long news and ?business? show that assaults business, rails against free trade and relies on union members to paint a dreary economic picture. Yet the network that advertises itself as ?CNN ? The most trusted name in news? says Dobbs ?helped CNN become the leader in television business journalism.?

Dobbs, dubbed ?the Dan Rather of financial journalism? by Daniel Griswold, director of the Cato Institute?s Center for Trade Policy Studies, has roused numerous critics with his skewed view of the news. But what?s more, opponents argue that one of the foremost names in TV business news is often simply wrong. As a result, his viewers are missing the real story behind free trade.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, 94 percent of the show?s stories about trade over a four-month period blamed elements of free trade for ?destroying? the U. S. middle class and leaving a ?legacy of environmental degradation, lost jobs, and increased illegal immigration.?


The Media Research Center?s Free Market Project studied 69 news reports from 86 broadcasts of ?Lou Dobbs Tonight? between March 1 and June 30, 2005. The stories chosen for the study focused on free trade and outsourcing. The findings were staggering. Dobbs disregarded economic fundamentals on a daily basis.

Whether the topic was outsourcing, international trade or labor, the show?s coverage was openly biased against free trade. For example, out of 30 stories discussing the relocation of American jobs, 29 were about outsourcing and only one mentioned the insourcing of job opportunities from other countries. That sole instance of good news was used as a criticism of U.S. trade policy.

That negative approach was commonplace. A typical ?Lou Dobbs? broadcast began with several news reports followed by a debate segment. Rather than addressing a broad spectrum of business topics, the show reiterated a steady stream of trade-related complaints. The stories were woven so tightly together that it was often difficult to tell one from another. And if a story didn?t give Dobbs the chance to blast free trade, he frequently tossed in a comment anyway.

…Free trade is a cornerstone of the free market, as well as the Bush administration?s economic policy. On June 1, 2004, former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA was designed to reduce foreign tariffs on U.S. exports to Central America and eliminate most of the other trade barriers between the two regions. According to the Cato Institute, CAFTA countries are our ?13th largest trading partner, and our 2nd largest export market in Latin America.? Essentially, CAFTA would open the door for free trade and bolster the economies of both parties.

Yet, 92 percent of the trade-related stories (47 out of 51) airing on ?Lou Dobbs Tonight? ignored the benefits of free trade and the potential gains of CAFTA. Instead, Dobbs obsessed over ?idiotic free trade policies? and wondered why ?can?t anyone look and see that China is creating a middle class on the basis of manufacturing, while these idiot policies are destroying ours?? He even smugly referred to the notion as ?so-called free trade? at least 34 times.

…Over the four months from March to June of 2005, ?Lou Dobbs Tonight? amounted to little more than a sounding board against the principles behind free trade. Ninety-four percent of the 69 trade stories in that time period discussed the topic in a glaringly one-sided nature. The Central American Free Trade Agreement, America?s largest trading partner, and companies ?exporting America? were attacked with economic misinformation. In the process, Lou Dobbs damaged his credibility and deceived his audience with one-sided stories.

I can’t say that I’m shocked, I mean we’re talking about CNN here…the Al-Jazeera of the US.

Previous:

MSM At It Again – Part VII
MSM At It Again – Part VI
The MSM Bias
Calling The MSM Out!
The Bias In The Media
MSM At It Again – Part V
MSM At It Again – Part IV
Traitors In The MSM
The Bias In The MSM
MSM At It Again – Part III
MSM At It Again – Part II
The MSM At It Again
The MSM Traitors
The Media & The War