Paul Krugman pointed out the media’s negative bias toward any bad news when covering Biden’s economy.
Paul Krugman Discusses The Media’s Negativity Bias
Video of Krugman on CNN’s Reliable Sources:
Paul Krugman talks about the media's negativity bias in economic coverage, "If you ask people how is your financial situation, it's favorable. If you ask them how is the economy, oh, it's terrible. That's a media failing." pic.twitter.com/Mdu50sczPv
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 31, 2022
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The coverage has tended toward if it bleeds it leads, but this time in economic data, the negatives get all the attention. There’s a lot of polling — it’s one thing for people to say that inflation matters more than the job gains. A plurality of voters aren’t aware we’ve been gaining jobs. People just don’t know. People say they’ve heard more news items reporting negative news on the employment, and employment is the economy’s good point.
There’s been a negativity bias in coverage. The press should be giving people — people have their own personal experiences. If you ask people how are you doing, they’re pretty upbeat. People are complaining about things like gas prices, although those have come down in the last six weeks. If you ask people how is your financial situation, it’s pretty favorable. If you ask them how is the economy, oh, it’s terrible. That’s a media failing. Somehow we’re failing to convey the realities.</em>
The media is biased toward negativity on the economy. As soon as gas prices started falling, the corporate media stopped talking about it. The same thing will happen when inflation starts to fall. The corporate media drives rating through negative coverage.
It was decided early on by the corporations who control the mainstream American press that they would replace the ratings gotten from Trump with a dramatic negative storyline about Biden because the Biden administration coming in and doing a competent job is a boring story that won’t generate revenue.
The media coverage of the economy is biased toward the negative to the point where the American people are misinformed into believing that things are worse than what they are.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
