by Donna LaHale

Created on: November 15, 2007

Wouldn't it be nice to lay the blame for rising gasoline prices at the feet of the mostly liberal news media. As a former network television producer, I can tell you, they are fed their stories. The media is no more resistant to the old adage "Garbage in, garbage out" than any other information outlet in the world.

The media and the talking heads that represent networks are conduits for information that is sent over various news wires. These public pawns pass on information that someone behind the curtain wants us to hear. It could be our government, it could be oil cartels, it could be any number of sources.

Producers typically arrive hours before the broadcast, and scour electronic news feeds, newspapers, and other reports available to them to determine which stories are going to grasp viewers' attention. This is why, as you flip from channel to channel during the news hour, you'll likely see about 90% of the stories repeated on multiple networks. Occasionally, an investigative reporter, full of zeal, pride and ambition, will tackle a story in greater depth, hoping for a coveted award or promotion. But, all in all, the stories are relatively similar.

Unfortunately, in their quest for ratings (the first rule of television news..if it bleeds, it leads) they do often color the information. So, we don't necessarily get the news in it's purest form. Still, they are not setting up the next increase, they are only warning us of it's impending coming because some government agency or oil producing nation has told them it is on the way. They really don't have power over international oil moguls - and therefore, have no say in gasoline prices.

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