Media Matters answers my question of "where are all the economists to explain the stimulus package on TV."
By John Amato Thursday Feb 12, 2009 6:45amI wrote a post a week ago called: Why aren't there hundreds of economists on my TV explaining the stimulus package? It was picked up by Yahoo News via the Huffington Post. Thankfully Media Matters did a little research and broke down the TV coverage to see where these hundreds of economists are lurking.
Guess what? They weren't on the air trying to explain one of the most important times in our nation's history. The networks decided to stick with the arguing talking head monkey format.
In the hour following President Obama's February 9 press conference -- during which he gave a brief address about the economic recovery legislation currently moving through Congress -- cable news programs featured guests and panelists to discuss Obama's remarks. But CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC did not bring on a single economist to discuss the plan. The absence of economists in the post-press conference discussion was consistent with the observation made by Crooksandliars.com founder John Amato in a February 4 article on The Huffington Post:
"I'm sure you've heard about the hundreds of economists that are either for or against President Obama's stimulus plan. My question to the media is: Where are they?" Indeed, a Media Matters for America review of the Sunday talk shows and 12 cable news programs from January 25 through February 8 found that during 139 1/2 hours of programming on Sunday mornings and weekday afternoons and evenings, of 460 total guest appearances in discussions about the economic recovery legislation and debate in Congress, only 25 were made by economists -- a mere 5 percent.
Check their full break down. It's sickening. Only 5% of them were put on air. It's not that Americans are uninformed, but that our media fails to do their jobs and intentionally decides to keep them uninformed. They would rather have a recently defeated Lindsey Graham and John Boehner appear to whine and whine and whine about President Obama's stimulus package.
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If an economist has sufficient intelligence to perform voluntary human activities, and thus demonstrates superiority to vegetable or mineral forms, he or she is too smart for our cable broadcasters.
Why cable news fears hosting economists
http://rlv.zcache.com/man_juggling_vegetables...
http://www.leaderslair.com/avengers/avengers0...
Peter Schiff On Kudlow & Co: Money Makers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uETjCQfQsWw
Jim Rogers Says Geithner Caused Crisis, Must Let Banks Fail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6sMOQCycpk
China Needs U.S. Guarantees for Treasuries, Yu Says (Update2)
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- China should seek guarantees that its $682 billion holdings of U.S. government debt won’t be eroded by “reckless policies,” said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to the central bank.
The U.S. “should make the Chinese feel confident that the value of the assets at least will not be eroded in a significant way,” Yu, who now heads the World Economics and Politics Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in response to e-mailed questions yesterday from Beijing. He declined to elaborate on the assurances needed by China, the biggest foreign holder of U.S. government debt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206010...
I wish more people in the government would listen to Peter. Its too bad the government seems to be destroying the economy on purpose to grab even more power.
The Government is giving the Banksters vast amounts WITHOUT taking control for we the people.
Peter Schiff Was Right
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/peter-sc...
I think Peter Schiff was right will turn into series of remade movies, Peter Schiff Was Right - Part II, Peter Schiff Was Right - Part III, etc. The above video in my original post will no doubt get added to Part II.
when the trade compacts start to be rewritten
they have this money to buy our bonds because we keep sending industry to them
no matter what we do, unless we can start building stuff here and selling it abroad, this stimulus bill will have been worthless
Imagine US 'wheels' kowtowing to the Chinese for more money!
Presenting the Stimmies
Feb. 11: Talk Me Down: Members of the House and Senate from both parties patted themselves on the back for agreeing on a new version of the stimulus package. Rachel Maddow asks economist Jeffrey Sachs if the watered-down package will still achieve the goal.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/29149...
"It's not that Americans are uninformed, but that our media fails to do their jobs and intentionally decides to keep them uninformed."
The media is NOT failing to "do their jobs" when they intentionally decided to keep the public uninformed.
THAT IS THE MEDIA'S JOB
The mainstream media's job is to promote the interests of their megacorporation owners: the mainstream media's job is PROPAGANDA. And they're DOING IT.
We need to stop pretending that the media has ANY other purpose.
If we want the media to have some role as a public advocate or informant, we MUST exercise existing antitrust legislation to break up the large media empires that are constricting public discourse. And we must pass campaign finance reform, to curtail the corrosive effects of corporate money on our so-called democratic process.
But we really need to stop pretending that what the media airs is the result of ineptness, incompetence, or accident: the reason there were only 25 economists aired last week was because THAT'S HOW THEY WANTED IT.
thank you.
As Michael Parenti puts it, it is not that they can tell you what to think, they cannot.
They CAN tell you what is IMPORTANT, that is what you will think about.
couldn't have said it better.
The USA, and the World, can't really recover from this disaster until we have broken up the media monopoly and legislated publicly financed elections.
The legalized bribery of our Congress must be stopped.
The 24/7 fascist propaganda of the "Media" must be diminished, or gotten rid of.
exactly the point.
Happy Two Hundredth Lincoln/Darwin
http://wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/pers-f1...
In the wake of Lincoln's assassination, Marx again took up his pen on behalf of Europe's socialist workers, this time addressing himself to Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's far lesser vice president. Lincoln was a man, Marx wrote, "neither to be browbeaten by adversity, nor intoxicated by success, inflexibly pressing on to his great goal, never compromising it by blind haste, slowly maturing his steps, never retracing them, carried away by no surge of popular favor, disheartened by no slackening of the popular pulse, tempering stern acts by the gleams of a kind heart, illuminating scenes dark with passion by the smile of humor, doing his titanic work as humbly and homely as Heaven-born rulers do little things with the grandiloquence of pomp and state; in one word, one of the rare men who succeed in becoming great, without ceasing to be good. Such, indeed, was the modesty of this great and good man, that the world only discovered him a hero after he had fallen a martyr."
!
why not? at least until we get back on our feet!
God bless Obama!
No doubt John. It's been an amazing spectacle of suckassness.
The word "pork" flying around, no mention of the complete lack of any "earmarks".... A first.
The David Brooks "entitlement spending"/"pet project" meme was alive and well and at the very time that California was canceling road projects and suspending financial aid payments, Presidents Collins and Nelson save the day with Billions cut to aid for states.
What a bunch of Boehners!
http://broadcatching.wordpress.com/2009/01/29...
Has been unemployed for about a year now. He watches the network news 24/7. I have to say I hear some of the craziest shit ever come out of his mouth, but what I have noticed is that he doesn't watch the news to be informed, he watches the news to reinforce his already held viewpoints. He only takes with him the information or opinions that agree with him, and discards and ignores the rest. I'm guessing this is what 75% of the serial news watchers do, and is why we have networks that cater to specific swaths of viewers. Fox caters more to the hard right conservatives, CNN more to the middle, and MSNBC more to the left.
Is it right? No. Is it the basic result of commercialism and capitalism? Yes. They taught me in high school to avoid bias, which is why I head over to Red State or Free Republic, just to see what's got them all pissed off today. Sometimes I agree with some of the commenters. I never agree with the site authors.
A lot of people on that side agree with my theory that America is failing because small business has been failing for the last 20 years. Even Reagen himself said it. Huge corporations like Wal-mart don't do any good for ordinary people, no matter how "cheap" you think your getting shit for. Bottom line is that if your getting a TV for 200 bucks cheaper than one at another store, well... It's not the same quality of television. Things like games and movies you might save 11 cents on (they like to put ".88" cents instead of ".99" on their tags, just so they can say they have the lowest price), but it's rarely worth the 10 minute lines at the register.
Any ways, now I'm ranting about Wal-Mart. Time to go to work. Have fun today!
they either soothe or stoke my fears as the case warrants. I LOVE YOU MSM!
well i want to know EVERYTHING in this package , i want it spelled out in print, i want them to explain to me how these make work jobs will leed to permanet jobs , explain to me why since as i have said many times why jobs like will be created will do anything but cause more burger kings built so the middle class has a place to eat out or end up working in because i dont hear how we are going to rebuild our manufacturing base back , such as textiles clothes shoes , and anything that we lost due to the corporations theft of our factiorys, where the hells the beef? i hear nothing but mish mash comeing from obama on stopping outsourseing jobs by corporations, wishfull thinking aint going to get the job done!
of that Tyree. Both parties know it's not worth mentioning the real stimulus this thing is doing. It's a sham to try and get you to think all is well in the world. The media leaks out little bits of news every few days. Like the fact, the actual stimulus will work out to about $13 for the average citizen. Wow. Oh and if you are unemployed and the gov't decides you are worth it, they will cover up to 60% of your medical expenses. Oh wow. Feel the economy turning! Hell-la-lew-ya brother and amen!
But it also fails to mention that skidloads of cash will just plunk themselves on the desks of city and state legislators all over the land, with "hopes" they will use the money as designed. No word on how many shovels they will need, to transfer the cash over to their own budgets to stop the cuts and debt they have amassed.
The talking heads want you to think they are experts in every field. If they brought on a real economist, he or she might make the talking heads look as ill informed as they really are.
When they had Krugman on 'This Week w/Stephanopolous' and he took Donaldson to school! shamed him for the empty suit parrot he is.
I'm SHOCKED...SHOCKED...to hear that there's gambling going on here.
This problem applied to the war, to discussion of social issues, to discussions of history...the free market...etc. etc.
Everyone knows what the problem is...the issue is what hammer is in place to bring the news media back in line, so that it serves the best interest of the country...rather than the elites and the political parties.
The fairness doctrine existed for a reason...and yeah..I know it didn't apply to the cable industry...but 30 years ago...there was no cable industry...and 20 years ago...it wasn't what it is today.
I don't care what it is called, but regulation is needed. The airwaves were put up for sale, as if the government owned them. Well...the airwaves were public property. The government had no right to sell them and the fact is there was NEVER any real debate on the whole privatization of the airwaves.
When power and money vie in an arena against the the 'public', power and money will always win. Then answer is not to fight back nor is it to give up. The answer is to move on. They took over radio and TV, we moved to the internet. Eventually they moved to the internet, we'll need to move someplace else, the next frontier in communication whatever that may be.
I think the main reason is not that we definitely CAN'T win (though the odds are loooong) but its a question of validity. If we could re-take, as it were the MSM to serve the public's need, it would still be tainted and untrustworthy. Once someone or something has been bought or sold, its forever suspect.
All we see on the TV is conservative, pundit, paid commentary boobs!
I once worked with a woman from China, she made a comment with a jaw dropping face; 'You sure do have propaganda here!' Those were her exact words.
Remember when Anna Nicole Smith died? John Edwards had an affair? Hours and hours of non-stop coverage. Just the other night, Larry King had even more ANS nonsense on his program.
Here we are, in one of the biggest financial catastrophes any of us has ever seen, and what do we get? Silence.
Banks, TV networks, government ... nobody can be trusted anymore.
Has anyone thought the ratings themselves might be rigged? After all, Nielson's or whoever is a corporation that can be bought and sold like any other. Everyone I know just loves Olbermann and Maddow...
Pres. Obama has been talking about the "bad habit" of partisanship among repubs in congress. The msm has a lot of "bad habits", too...this is one of them.
I think some people going to jail would provide some stimulus to the public.
When I came back to my country of birth in 2000, the U.S., after 8 years overseas in Europe, I was shocked by the media bias. Radio, television, & newspapers. Speaking a couple of foriegn languages and being able to compare U.S. coverage to coverage across the pond, I was shocked.
When I tried to discuss with Americans before the war in Iraq situation possibilities that were different from theirs and different from the pro-war position, most became angry. These are intelligent people but their brain food comes from corporate media so that is their reality. When you tell someone they are, basically, misinformed, it's very hard to be successful. Either they will hold on to their false reality or they feel duped and resent you for point that out.
Mentality herding is quite powerful and the Republicans know this and don't hesitate for one minute to exploit it - basically fear and greed.
I created an Explorer Favorites folder and named it "Search For Reality." It's still there. When Crooks and Liars was started, it took a preeminent spot in that folder. There are not too many other web sites in there.
Thank you C&L for providing one of the highest levels of “real” reality out there. It is much appreciated.
Watching it really helps.
For a state owned broadcasting corporation, the BBC is pretty fair. They have their bias but are no way near as badly biased as the U.S. broadcasters.
I lived part of my life overseas... and the cultural shock of American media vs. overseas news organizations never gets old.
By the way, you wrote:
"Mentality herding is quite powerful and the Republicans know this and don't hesitate for one minute to exploit it - basically fear and greed."
That is one of the main characteristics of fascism.
Joe Scarborough was ranting and raving this morning because there is some money in the package to protect an endangered beach mouse in California. What Joe seems unable to understand is that scientist like my husband will be employed to monitor the habitat of this species of mouse and in turn, other scientist will also.
Here in Florida, each county is dying for money for so many things. If the counties can recieve some of the stimulus package, they will be able to continue their environmental monitoring of sea turtles and that will perhaps allow my husband to keep the employees he has and rehire the two he has alread had to lay off. All of this will instill confidence at his lab and people who work there will feel a little freer to spend some of their money. That will be a local stimulus.
Hey, it's not a great big bunch of people but if you have a lot of small businesses feeling more confident in their future, this thing could work.
The only concern here, though, is not just the simple creation of a job. It's the job itself as well as the effect of the job--will it keep on giving. Now, I'm a big fan of environmentalism, but in terms of pure fiscal stimulus, this becomes a "dead end" job because it doesn't create some sort of pro-commerce effect (e.g. bridges, broadband, etc.) Some might argue that it is more anti-stimulus (I'm not pro-development, btw) because it could potentially stop the construction of buildings.
The Rethugs once again are being blind to long-term effects by couching the stimulus in terms of dollar/job rather than dollar/job+future effects.
p.s. Joe is a douchebag
so take it at face value, but internet wires and tubes are humming about some of the environmental pork involved here. Apparently, there is supposed to be a big ol' chunk of cash for Pelosi's district to save a nature park and some kind of mouse. Not sure how that will create even one job, but it is a noble cause. Perhaps in a different bill, it would make sense.
Scientist will be hired to monitor the habitat of that mouse, reports will be written, the species will be studied. All those things require professionals and therefore put people to work or enable already existing labs to expand their work force. We can't put everyone to work building roads and bridges
But it seems a helluva pile of money for one or two jobs, and an exhausting study that nobody will ever read or pay any attention to.
Now if it causes the creation of a government committee, now that is something that will be long costly, and drawn out, thus employing maybe hundreds or thousands!! AND when the study is done, those scientists can apply for jobs as.....mouse watchers..perhaps Disney would hire them?
If you were among those to get the job and it helped you keep your home and care for your family, I bet it wouldn't seem so trivial to you then.
but then he couldn't get on his soap box and rant at will, could he?
It's a job and that's what is needed. Someone will also create the trails, pour the parking lot, build the resource center, etc.
I find it interesting how the meme has become they have to be "permanent" jobs. WTF does that matter? We need jobs now. As noted when confidence goes back up amonst the consumers they'll start buying again and stores and manufacturers can start hiring again. It ain't rocket science.
I didn't hear much complaining about the $18 billion for the Wall Street bonuses. How many folks do you suppose got to divvy that up? What did that cost per job?
But it does create a consumer with money to spend. That spent money carries tax money with it. It doesn't matter what you create to sell, if the population doesn't have the money to buy it, then that too is a dead end job.
do stimulate the economy a big deal.
It is not just about the salary of the scientist, but the fact that most labs/projects require a big deal of technology and purchasing of equipment. And supporting groups.
And a lot of that specialized equipment is one of the few things still made in the US of A.
Also a lot of research, usually, generates new ideas/patents. Which more times than not, end up creating actual businesses out of them. In fact, federal grants are the reason why many great companies got started. Enterprises that would have never got any private venture capital, as they do not fit the short term/high revenue path that they tend to favor.
Applying a sort of "tunnel vision" like what you described (what is a dead end job?) can be dangerous.
Yes, short term requirements/needs have to be addressed. But long term planning needs to start percolating into the American way of doing things. That lack of long term vision is one of the main reasons why we are in the shit hole we are in.
the money won't be spent on studying anything scientific..It's to be spent purchasing said park so that it won't be used for housing.
I am curious.
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OK, since your silence is deafening. Can I start to assume you were full of shit?
is exactly the type of noxious windbag posing as an economist that should be banned from every touching a US dollar, let alone talk about it. He is exactly the type of idealogue, NOT scholar, that this post is pointing too.
Network and Cable news is committed to dumbing down the already dumbed down NASCAR Nation.
I had the misfortune to come home and turn on MSNBC the day before yesterday and one of their chatterboxes had the painfully stupid Brian Williams on. He droned away about Obama's stimulus package and after 3 minutes, I had to turn the channel.
It was clear, he didn't know his ......, well, I won't say it.
I'll say it for you. He didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.
if Media Matters, or somebody, would actually ask economists their views, instead of saying nobody is allowing them to speak. So far, I think I've heard like 3 in the US.
would have been exposed long ago for what they are: the enemies of the middle and lower classes.
I really think that the GOP would have been reduced to irrelevancy if they did not have platforms to control the message. Chances are that a lot of the GOP leadership, like Prescott Bush, Nixon, et al... would have been exposed for the enemies of the state that they are long ago.
I mean, for crying out loud. Prescott Bush did conspire to overthrow the US government. How more treasonous can you get? Did he even serve a single day in prison, even after he had his family assets seized for collaborating with the enemy? Hell no, he got to have a long senatorial career, and two of his scions have served as presidents of the USA.
The old adagio that religion was the opium of the masses needs to be updated: TV is the opium of the masses. Because it makes no sense to me, how the GOP for example can convince the majority of its voters... to proactively vote against their own interests.
This is, the policies (and allegiances) of the republican party only help to a very small percentage of the population (maybe less than 10%, the top earners in society). So a group which caters to a single digit group (a true minority) in our society, gets to convince almost half of the electorate to vote for them. That means, that a significant portion of half of the electorate is literally shooting themselves in the foot. And the scary part: they are none too happy and eager to do it.
Goebbels would be ever so proud...
Where Have All the Economists Gone, next from the Pete Seeger!
100 million of the stimulus was spent purchasing ductape and plastic, to smuggle all the economists to Gitmo!!
in Hudson's rather than Guantanamo's Bay. Duct tape is more effective in wart removal in colder climes.
I'd like to see a lot more of this kind of thing-liberal organizations like Amato's site and MM helping each other make the arguments.
A big part of the GOP attack is to demean and belittle these concerns.
They should be fought on a common front.
Anyway-great job John.
Although people don't have anywhere near the stupidity that "future America" characters have in the film, many watchers of mainstream media news already have disdain for logic and academics that characters in the movie have.
That is the reason hardly any economists appear on MSM news. It's too "faggy" to try to appeal to a viewer's intellect.
you are probably right.
They are already complaining about the fact that the President stops and actually..wait for it...thinks..before..commenting.
Its short attention span theater.They want manly soundbites and hyper patriotic stimulation-not actual ideas.
....is in part caused by the corporate-run government. The inability to pay attention for more than a nanosecond is helped along by the ubiquitous TV, computers, game systems, cell phones, Ipods, etc. Entertainment and distraction is the name of the game:
keep 'em busy flipping channels and buying crap and they won't notice we're stealing their futures.
In addition, the "dumbing-down" of Americans by the blatant degradation of our public education system, makes it much easier to control the messages in the propaganda. People who cannot read well or who do not learn problem-solving strategies must depend on the information that is "fed" to them by others - in this case the corporations and the gov't, which are really one and the same!
"keep 'em busy flipping channels and buying crap and they won't notice we're stealing their futures."
Spot on.
Electronic and digital gadgets are the proverbial "opiates of the masses".
and keeping everyone in heavy debt to credit cards, banks, etc. Gotta keep 'em so busy working off their debts they don't have time to realize how much their taking a screwing.
When ABC chose to offer these two experts on the economy during their nightly news -- Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics vs. George Will -- I knew all hope was lost.
Talk about the Mickey Mouse network.
Tough talking politicians have BACKED DOWN on executive pay caps on bailed out banks and corporations. OH can you feel the "trickle down" effects of this?
The taxpayer screamed. The government said we hear you, then gave everyone the finger.
Yeah, it is sickening that not many economists have been interviewed....but what's kind of even more sickening is that Glenn Beck has interviewed the highest number of them. Don't know much about the ones he interviewed....they're almost certainly conservative ones....but the insane one actually has interviewed more than anyone.
I pointed that Media Matters article out to BillO the Clown last night because BillO had Bernie the Clown Goldberg on once again. Of course, Goldberg and BillO were bashing the "left-wing media." BillO once again bashed Media Matters...that "evil," "vile," "left-wing," "hate-filled" web site. BillO said that Media Matters always bashes the right but never the left, so I pointed out to him that they actually reported that idiot Beck had the highest number of economists on his program. I also asked, as I have done before, why BillO never criticizes his buddy Brent Bozell's web site, Media Research Center which always bashes what they believe to be liberal-biased websites/news shows but never does so to right-wing sites and shows.
to count Ben Stein as an economist.
WTF is with that? Beck had the most economists on his show? There has got to be a logical explanation right?
John Amato is SMART and so are all of the Crooks and Liars constituents. I have full confidence Crooks and Liars will produce economist on both sides of the table. I'm patient to wait, a few days, when the whole deal comes through and is signed then we'll hear from all sorts of economists. You go John....and all that respond on these posts. I'm just that impressed with Crooks and Liars. I know, like the calvary, they'll come to the rescue. Sometimes we just have to be patient.
Cosmo
was 50% of that 5%. I saw two other economists on all the shows I watched, including CNBC, where you'd think an appearance by an actual economist would be in order.
If this package is anything like the Obama campaign I assure you IT WILL SUCCEED! Remember: The republicants DON'T WANT IT TO SUCCEED! That's why only 5% showed up. That's proof to me THIS WILL WORK....Now, get on the stick and dig up some economists....this is THE VERY FIRST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAS HAPPENED....Then look at the republicans that caused this fiasco and arrest Bush,Cheney,Rumsfelt,Rice,Libby,Boner,Graham,McSame and the list goes on......
Cosmo2
We're all needlessly getting ourselves into a tizzy. We need to remember that network and cable "news" is only entertainment. It bears the same relationship to real news as professional wrestling bears to actual sport. Come to think of it, our whole damn culture is fake, from "reality shows" to steroid fueled athletes. Television runs neck and neck with religion as the opiate of the masses. These days, I get most of my news from blogs and my own on-line research. TV news is just annoying and newspapers are only good for comics and crossword puzzles.
That's why get my TV news from PBS. All the others suck big time.
The media have been stacking the deck? Say it ain't so!
Perhaps it's just laziness.
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