Julia Seymour: [1]
As gas prices rose in 2008, network reporters mentioned President Bush in 15 times as many stories than they brought up President Obama in a similar period in 2011.
Bush drew gallons of coverage in 2008. Comparing a 20-day span of rising gas prices in 2008 to 24 days of rising prices in February 2011, the Business & Media Institute found the networks did more than 2 ½ times as many stories during the Bush years versus Obama.
Unrest in the Mideast has hit American consumers hard, driving up gas prices that had already been above $3-a-gallon since Dec. 23. The national average for gasoline hit $3.36 on Feb. 28, the highest ever for the month of February [2] according to The Associated Press. But the amount of network news coverage of rising gas prices did not reflect it.
All three broadcast networks together averaged just one story about rising gas prices per day. In contrast, when gas prices rose similarly in 2008, the networks averaged more than one story, per network, per day.
[3]In contrast, says Seymour:
In contrast to the 15 reports referencing the Bush administration when gas prices were “through the roof,” the only 2011 story to mention the president was NBC “Nightly News” on Feb. 24. Tom Costello’s report on the impact of surging gas prices quoted President Obama who was “optimistic.”
Obama said, “We actually think that we’ll be able to ride out the Libya situation and it will stabilize.” Costello didn’t question the president’s statement or mention any of the administration’s policies that will constrict the supply of oil and gasoline and could further increase the price of gasoline for consumers.
What we have, in spite of the rhetoric of Obama and company about “real leadership” is a lack of acknowledgement from Obama and his his freinds in the press, that there has been no real leadership on energy at all, and that this administration’s policies have been detrimental to our country on a scale that can only be described as monumental.
Forgetting the price of gasoline for the moment, have you seen the price of Diesel? In case you don’t know, it’s going up faster than gas. And lest you think Diesel prices don’t affect you, do yourself a favor and try to find something you own or that you consume that isn’t delivered by means of fuel oil. Does anyone think for a moment, that the price increases we’re seeing are not going to be borne by every consumer in the country? How does that mesh with the supposed efforts at economic recovery?
Now, these are all points that would be argued by a press that is trying to tag a supposed conservative….. Bush, or any other target of the left…. with one thing or another. As usual, the leftists running the press are selective in their “reporting”. Big shock, huh?