The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that
offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly
lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released by the
Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information
Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too
small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has
overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of
the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now
favoring expanded drilling.
"This is a clear case where the overwhelming majority of the
media has not done its job," said CEPR Co-Director and co-author of the
paper, Mark Weisbrot.
The paper, "Oil Drilling In Environmentally Sensitive Areas: The Role of the Media,"
finds that in 267 television news broadcasts, the Energy Information
Agency data was cited only once. Also, in 91% of the news programs in
this sample, there was not even an opposing opinion presented.
"There really isn’t any excuse for the media to ignore the
official data on this issue," said Weisbrot. "It’s like reporting on
the economy and ignoring the official data on GDP growth, unemployment,
or inflation. No wonder the public is confused."
Recent public opinion polls show 69% of respondents favored
expanded drilling, and 51% said that they believed that "federal laws
that prohibit increased drilling for oil offshore or in wilderness
areas" were a "major cause of the recent increase in gasoline
prices."[1]
The paper also notes that the role of the biggest media outlets
in shaping public opinion on offshore drilling is underestimated by the
results in the sample. Talk radio, which is overwhelmingly right wing,
reaches a weekly audience in the tens of millions,[2] and reinforced
the message that the proposed drilling would lower gasoline prices.
[1] CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, July 30, 2008 [http://www.pollingreport.com/energy.htm]
[2] See "The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio,"
Center for American Progress and Free Press (2007)
Click to access talk_radio.pdf
Loading...