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     Global warming may doom the Napa Valley, CBS News warned its July 12 “Evening News” audience. Yet correspondent John Blackstone excluded any scientists, including those who otherwise believe in man-made global warming, who warn that new computer models are inconclusive or don’t match up against recorded climate patterns.       “New research says global warming threatens to make the Napa Valley too hot to make fine wine,” Blackstone warned. A new study by Purdue University’s Noah…

     The Washington Post has produced evidence that journalists influence the way the public views the economy.      The paper sponsored “a survey-based experiment” of “more than 2,500 online respondents” who were “shown a brief news clip before being asked to reply to a series of questions.” The views of respondents on their personal economic well-being were wildly different between survey-takers shown a story on gas prices and respondents shown a story on job growth.      Asked “would you…

     ABC, CBS and NBC alarmed viewers of their July 13 evening newscasts with stories about “record” oil prices due to tensions in the Middle East. While the newscasts informed viewers about global political problems impacting oil prices, they misled viewers on the actual cost of oil. Adjusted for inflation, oil would have to go up another $10 to reach its record high.       “Crude oil prices rocketed nearly two bucks a barrel today to a record-high $76.70, driven by rising tensions in the…

     The ’80s song “I Want a New Drug” might as well be the soundtrack for The New York Times and NBC. Both media have dramatically changed the tune on two prescription drugs they once hailed as “breakthroughs” and “promising new treatments.”        On July 12, the news outlets reversed their 1998 positions on cancer drugs raloxifene and tamoxifen. Eight years ago the drugs were lauded, but now these are “dangerous drugs,” according to one cancer patient who won’t even take them.       On May…

     CNN business contributor Andy Serwer reported on a curious policy change at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) stores: they’re giving first-time shoplifters a break for inexpensive merchandise. The story was not meant to be publicly announced and could cause an up-tick in shoplifting at the stores. Yet Serwer left out that The New York Times broke the story after being handed internal documents from an anti-Wal-Mart group funded by labor unions.      “If you are caught in a Wal-Mart stealing less than $…

     President Bush announced some great news about the economy Tuesday, but the media weren't in any mood to celebrate. Though the budget deficit for 2006 looks to be significantly lower than forecast just five months ago, TV news outlets were quick to rain on the president's parade.      CNN's Ed Henry cynically compared this announcement to the president declaring an end to major combat operations in Iraq in 2003. Meanwhile, NBC's Brian Williams downplayed the good news by stating “…

     “We’ll look at who’s to blame for the stuff you put in your body.”       That’s not an exaggeration of the media’s view of the “food police’s” efforts to regulate American food. That’s how CNN’s Jennifer Westhoven plugged an upcoming story about an anti-Kentucky Fried Chicken lawsuit on the June 17 “In the Money.”       By airing numerous stories on the anti-food-industry antics of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the media lend credence to the idea…

     ABC and CBS evening newscasts attacked the pharmaceutical industry for expensive drugs for cancer treatment. Both the July 11 “World News Tonight” and “Evening News” left out dollar figures on drug industry research costs, and CBS even criticized the industry for “only” saving patients for up to another year.       “In the last year, the cost of cancer drugs climbed 15 percent” compared to 3.3 percent for other drugs, CBS’s Trish Regan complained. Regan lamented that “drug companies are…

     “Gas prices are through the roof, why are you still driving?”      That might as well have been the cry from “World News Tonight” substitute anchor Kate Snow as she opened the July 10 broadcast.     The answer would be: They’re just not as expensive as the media would have you believe.      “America’s growing appetite for gasoline has come as a surprise even as prices have climbed during last year” the demand “has held steady,” Snow told her viewers.      Reporter Dean Reynolds sounded…

     Young people are too busy buying scores of jeans to worry about socking away money for retirement, ABC’s Betsy Stark suggested to viewers in the first story in her “Money Trap” series on American debt. But Stark left out that a new survey shows 20-somethings are the most likely age bracket to be invested in tax-free Roth 401(k) plans.     Stark’s July 10 “World News Tonight” story centered on Erin Browne, a 27-year old “already living under a mountain of debt” with “a $130,000-mortgage and…