Topic: Media Research Center
With the May 28 appearance by Dan Gainor, director of the MRC's Business and Media Institute, on "Your World," The Media Research Center chalked up yet another friendly appearance on Fox News.
The segment featured Gainor joined by two other panelists, Fox News reporters Brenda Buttner and Terry Keenan, as well as guest host David Asman. As we've detailed, Fox News hosts tend to avoid asking tough questions of MRC representatives, and Keenan in particular has previously championed the MRC's talking points. Further, BMI was not described as the conservative group it is.
Interestingly, the video of Gainor's appearance posted on NewsBusters is cut off after the first question. Perhaps that's because after the MRC cut off the clip, Asman, Buttner and Keenan went on to reinforce Gainor's talking points regarding alleged hyping of high gas prices:
ASMAN: So, Brenda, is it hype, or is it the real thing?
BUTTNER: Well, I don't think it's hype that we report on gas prices. Nothing affects Americans' bottom line -- more Americans than that. But the real issue is that it's not -- what's not reported is when the gas prices go down. When they go down, do we then say to the oil companies, "Hey, you should get a break"? Or when they go down, do we report how much you're saving? No, it's always the only negative way. And the other thing is that many in the liberal media report that the gas prices are basically because we have a terrible economy, and that's not true at all.
ASMAN: And Terry, they also talk about it all being the price of oil, when so much of has to do with the price of gasoline, which means refined oil. That's a different thing.
KEENAN: Right, and that's what we've seen this year. While oil prices are up 18 percent, the refining costs are up about 35 percent, and that's why we're seeing gasoline prices back to where they were post-Katrina. But I agree with Dan. I mean, the cost of other things, including milk -- a gallon of milk, your education, your insurance costs, your health care costs have gone up far more rapidly than the price of gasoline, but nobody talks about that and, you know, nobody tells the milkman to give back his money.
[...]
ASMAN: And Terry, you know, for all the problem with the refineries, I don't see Democrats talking about deregulation to make it easier for refineries to come on line.
BUTTNER: No. I mean, who in their right mind would build a new refinery these days, with all the problems getting permits, with the refining margins coming down?
This is apparently the kind of "fair and balanced" coverage the MRC loves to see -- in which the "journalists" agree with them.
