INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY NOTES MEDIA BIAS ON ECONOMY

From the story: At The New York Times, a prominent subheadline noted: "A second straight year of less red ink fails to soothe many budget analysts." The Washington Post's coverage included the headline: "Long-Term Outlook Still Seen As Bleak." Incredibly, it quoted administration critics who lay the deficit shrinkage to "shifts in the economy, including fatter corporate profits, executive bonuses and stock market gains, that reflect growing inequality." The Los Angeles Times couldn't help itself either. "Bush Gives Deficit News A Positive Spin" was its headline. The big "spin," however, was in the Times' story, not the administration's briefing, which was based entirely on facts. NBC's Brian Williams highlighted the idea — again from White House "critics" — that "the White House has deliberately inflated its own deficit projections in the past few years to score political points when the actual numbers came in lower." So a simple, positive report on the government's finances is swamped by negativity and cynicism.

IBD