Dow Down 281 Points Big News, Dow Up

Dow Down 281 Points Big News, Dow Up 287 Points Not So Newsworthy --8/7/2007-- Media Research Center

A pronounced example of how bad news is news and good news is much less newsworthy: On Friday night, ABC and NBC teased full stories on the 281 point plunge that day in the Dow Jones average, but on Monday, after the Dow rebounded by five points greater than Friday's loss in the biggest one-day gain in five years, the networks limited coverage to a few seconds. "The stock market stumbles again today exposing fault lines in the nation's housing market," ABC's Charles Gibson teased a full story Friday night on the stock market and troubles in the mortgage industry which he introduced by emphasizing how "the gains of the past couple of days were more than wiped out by a dramatic late-day sell-off." But on Monday night, Gibson didn't tease the rebound news and held coverage to barely 20 seconds.

Brian Williams teased Friday's NBC Nightly News: "Stocks slide again on Wall Street. What is spooking the market tonight as we head into the weekend?" Williams spent a minute-and-half with CNBC's Jim Cramer discussing reasons for the plunge, but on Monday fill-in anchor Ann Curry gave the good news just 20 seconds, not counting time for more bad news: The bankruptcy filing by American Home Mortgage. CBS's Katie Couric on Friday only devoted 25 seconds to how "investors headed for the exits, and the Dow plunged 281 points. So, since hitting a record high 14,000 two weeks ago, the Dow has now given up more than 800 points." On Monday, however, she squeezed in a piddling eight seconds on the rebound, not counting unemployment news and a note about American Home Mortgage.