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The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Even though the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling.
"This is a clear case where the overwhelming majority of the media has not done its job," said CEPR Co-Director and co-author of the paper, Mark Weisbrot.
The paper, "Oil Drilling In Environmentally Sensitive Areas: The Role of the Media," finds that in 267 television news broadcasts, the Energy Information Agency data was cited only once. Also, in 91% of the news programs in this sample, there was not even an opposing opinion presented.
"There really isn't any excuse for the media to ignore the official data on this issue," said Weisbrot. "It's like reporting on the economy and ignoring the official data on GDP growth, unemployment, or inflation. No wonder the public is confused."
Even though the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling.
"This is a clear case where the overwhelming majority of the media has not done its job," said CEPR Co-Director and co-author of the paper, Mark Weisbrot.
The paper, "Oil Drilling In Environmentally Sensitive Areas: The Role of the Media," finds that in 267 television news broadcasts, the Energy Information Agency data was cited only once. Also, in 91% of the news programs in this sample, there was not even an opposing opinion presented.
"There really isn't any excuse for the media to ignore the official data on this issue," said Weisbrot. "It's like reporting on the economy and ignoring the official data on GDP growth, unemployment, or inflation. No wonder the public is confused."
1 comment:
That's incredible, and incredibly sad. It's true: we have no fucking free press anymore. They're all owned by Corporate America. Well, except for a few small exceptions, but no one SEES/READS that news.
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