One of the “Top Headlines” on ABC News’ Web site at 10:15 this morning was “Dow Jones Industrials Cross 12,000 for First Time.” Naturally we clicked through, expecting yet more cheerleading about yet another record performance from the Dow.
But ABC blew us away.
An orange and red “BREAKING NEWS” banner at the top of the story page declared, “DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE MOVES PAST 12,000 FOR FIRST TIME TODAY ON DECLINING OIL PRICES, STRONG CORPORATE EARNINGS.”
Then came the headline “The Dow Jones Industrials Cross 12,000,” followed, in inimitable ABC style, by the subhed, “The Dow Jones Industrial Average Crosses 12,000 for the First Time.”
Below that to the left were three Money headlines, including “The Dow Jones Industrials Cross 12,000” and “Dow Industrials Pass 12,000 for 1st Time.”
To the right was the first paragraph of the AP’s story: “The Dow Jones industrial average swept past 12,000 for the first time Wednesday, extending its march into record territory as investors grow increasingly optimistic about corporate earnings and the economy.”
After such excessive redundancy, reading the rest of the story wasn’t really necessary, but the AP did report that the Dow “surpassed the milestone just after trading began, rising as high as 12,046.63,” thus completing an arduous seven-and-a-half year trip from 11,000.
Woo hoo!
It appears noteworthy that there is no mention that the DOW if adjusted for inflation is still well below its high, let alone if compared to historic norms.
Is a DOW that if adjusted for inflation not a record at all, really something to celebrate?
Posted by Catch22 on Thu 19 Oct 2006 at 12:22 PM
CJR Pre-election Coverage Policy (for use only under a Republican-lead government):
1. No coverage of positive economic news allowed. EVER. Or at least until after the election, depending on how things go...
2. No coverage of ANY positive news from Iraq (of Afghanistan) is allowed, until and unless Iraq becomes a problem for Democrats.
3. No coverage of war heroes is allowed (but extended coverage of grieving families and wounded veterans is of course required)
4. No evidence against liberal agendas is allowed to be published with impunity.. (like the fact that that George Bush didn't send any hurricanes this year without warning to decimate the black population of an unsuspecting city..)
5. Only liberal pre-election hatchet jobs are worthy of defense (or indeed, mere mention) at CJR.. Works by conservative writers are to be ignored or maligned outright.
6. Any liberal pseudoscientific "study" that hurts the GOP is to be placed on the CJR alter and defended from nasty investigative things, like "skepticism"...
Posted by padikiller on Thu 19 Oct 2006 at 12:51 PM
catch 22 wrote:
Is a DOW that if adjusted for inflation not a record at all, really something to celebrate?
padikiller responds:
HMMMM......
Are gas prices, even at $3.00 a gallon, which are lower than they were during the Carter administration (after adjustment for inflation) really something to decry?...
Because the liberals sure are crying the blues about it...
Posted by padikiller on Thu 19 Oct 2006 at 12:59 PM