Blaming Workers, Hiding Profits in Primetime Inflation Coverage

[ck4829]

A FAIR study looking at six months of coverage across six primetime television news shows and NPR‘s All Things Considered found that segments on inflation put far more emphasis on the contributions of labor shortages and social spending—through driving up the cost of labor—than to the role of corporate profit-taking.

This portrays the economy as a zero sum game between workers and consumers, who appear to be intractably at odds if corporate profits are left out of the equation.

During the same period, the shows proved capable of hearing workers’ demands for higher wages when their coverage framed the issue as a “Great Resignation,” or during the shows’ scant coverage of “Striketober,” when a wave of labor militancy swept through much of the country.

This points to an inconsistency in coverage of the same labor market trends: When the shows were covering inflation, the “tight” labor market was mostly treated with the cool and icy calculation of market logic. But on the comparatively rare occasions when the shows covered the grievances of workers and their demands for dignified work—which are widely popular demands, given that most consumers are in fact workers too—the reports showed a more human side to what would otherwise be numbers on a scorecard, and mentioned the record profits of corporations.

https://fair.org/home/blaming-workers-hiding-profits-in-primetime-inflation-coverage/

[Botany]

1. Shell reports record $9.1 billion profit as oil prices soar in first-quarter

LONDON — Energy giant Shell reported record first-quarter earnings after a surge in oil prices, fueling calls for the British government to impose a tax on energy companies’ windfall earnings to help consumers struggling with the soaring cost of living.

London-based Shell said adjusted earnings – which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories – rose to $9.1 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year. That beat analyst expectations of $8.2 billion.

High oil and gas prices, partly due to uncertainty about supplies from Russia, are boosting the profits of major energy companies and feeding inflation around the world. In Britain, where households face the biggest drop in living standards on record, that has triggered demands for a special tax on energy company earnings to help consumers.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/05/07/shell-record-proft-oil-prices-soar/9686569002/

[duforsure]

2. Media has been biased, and refuses showing how corporate greed is a big part of inflation,

Big oil giants showing record profits from gouging consumers, along with many other corporations over charging for their products for larger profits , and now want to blame higher wages for the workers for it.

When the federal reserve wanted to raise interest rates to prevent a possible future runaway inflation, TFG more or less threaten them not to raise it , or the chairman could get fired, but the media says nothing about that, or shipping companies jacking up their rates astronomically. Mishandling of covid also helped disrupt business, and the economy, yet nothing said about that. Disruption of immigrant labor also has played a part in higher costs, and the trade wars that were started also cost consumers more.

Now we have rouge actions from people like Tx Gov Abbott's border stunt holding up products at the border causing billions in loss goods that we'll have to pay, but again little if any coverage. We also have a madman in russia starting a war based on his greed, and quest for power driving energy prices up.

Fascists put us in this situation, and are trying to project blame onto others , and media looks like they've sided with them at times.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. The economic models of inflation were hatched in the 1970s

Back then little was known about pricing because there was less available financial information and perhaps because it was a regulated economy where prices were often contractually set. Today there is much more flexibility on both.

[CrispyQ]

4. Does the media think if we go full-on authoritarian it will be business as usual?

If they need a horse race for ratings, what happens when we have a dictatorship? If only one view is ever allowed to be presented to the people, why would we need all the media outlets we have?

[mopinko]

5. a couple good price gouging suits would fox this.

this may be the 10th time i have posted this, but a price gouging suit against big oil would very much both shine the spotlight and rally the troops.

plus hangin a few traitors, of course, but...