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Last Wednesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 361 points all three networks led with the selloff and it was Story of the Day. So, it turns out, bears are more newsworthy than bulls. Today the DJIA climbed 319 points: only NBC led with it; ABC mentioned it only in passing; and the coverage by CBS' Anthony Mason and CNBC's Erin Burnett for NBC consisted merely of a brief stand-up that neither network considered substantial enough to post online.
ABC's economic lead concerned the rising price of gasoline. David Muir covered the projections of the Department of Energy that costs at the pump will reach an all-time high next month. Gasoline accounts for fully 5% of the average household's budget and Muir calculated that the increased price accounts for an $800 extra annual expenditure, "what the average American spends on the holidays--the cards, the food, the gifts." Muir consulted retail analysts who told him that mid-priced restaurants and retailers--think Chili's, Applebee's, JC Penney, GAP--will suffer from such crimped purchasing power and discounters like Wal-Mart will benefit.
After Burnett's brief stand-up on stocks, NBC turned to its theme of the day, the auto industry. After Brian Williams' trip to Cleveland (text link) yesterday he moved on to anchor from a pick-up truck plant in Warren Mich. "Engine buffs will recognize that as the Hemi engine," he stated, pointing to the production line for his interview with Chrysler executive Jim Press. "The body gets picked up, laid down on the chassis. This is going to make some buyer somewhere very happy." Yet CNBC's Burnett pointed out that Detroit's downsized Smaller Three are no longer the backbone of the regional economy: "In 1978 more than 400,000 people built cars in Motown factories. By 2006 that was down by almost half."
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