Steve Benen: …. it was another unpleasant day on Wall Street yesterday, with all of the major indexes falling. From a political perspective, consider how some news outlets covered the story – and connected the drop to President Obama …. Politico’s front-page headline told readers: “Markets plunge after Obama speech.”
In fairness, the Politico article was slightly better than its ridiculous headline, but the larger point is the same: these outlets tried to draw a connection between the president’s jobs speech and the one-day drop on Wall Street. After all, Obama spoke on Thursday night, and stocks slipped on Friday morning, ergo, one caused the other.
The problem, of course, is that this isn’t even close to being accurate. We know why the major indexes fell yesterday: “The stock market tumbled again Friday as doubts about the ability of European leaders to address a spiraling debt crisis on the continent overshadowed President Obama’s new proposal to spur U.S. job creation….”.
To suggest to U.S. news consumers that markets were reacting to the president’s jobs speech is absurd, even for conservative media outlets…..
More here
Zachary Karabell (Daily Beast): It’s easy to blame the president’s speech for the turmoil in economic markets at home and abroad – it’s also wrong.
… Most major news outlets ascribed the drop to a negative market referendum on President Obama’s jobs speech last night.
… The weakness of U.S. financial markets this week has almost nothing to do with what is going on in the United States economically or politically. It has everything to do with the endlessly unfolding drama in the European Union over the fate of Greek debt, peripheral countries, and the euro.
… we have one easy but false narrative – the markets don’t like Obama’s plan – that trumps a more complicated but true story – the markets are roiling from the fear of what is happening in Europe ….
Most financial cognoscenti know that the current issue is Europe, as do many who write and speak about such things. But the American desire to be the center of all things makes the story of markets selling in reaction to Obama too tempting. The problem isn’t just that it’s the wrong twist….
More here
The Obama Diary 
It’s not absurd. They aren’t stupid. These propagandists are simply doing what the small handful of multi-Billionaires that own all of the MegaMedia pay them to do. It’s intentional. The MegaRich don’t want any damn Democratically elected politicians messing with their tax schemes, and enacting any meddlesome regulation. All the MegaMedia of today is designed for this purpose. All of it.
Now just in time for campaign season, people like Al Giordano are providing alternatives, and direct things we all can get involved with to improve the media landscape. His got another one of his workshops coming up in Oct in NYC. Be there and be aware:
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/4636/announcing-nyc-workshop-organizing-journalism-civil-resistance
Bonkers, I followed your link and found some interesting info. The write-up surrounding the last video segment particularly caught my eye because it deals with something we have often spoken about here – circumventing the regular media.
“Milena Velis, School of Authentic Journalism graduate (2010) and professor (2011) is an organizer of Philadelphia’s Media Mobilizing Project, one of the few North American projects to which we in the authentic journalism renaissance can relate, because it organizes from below to make its own media rather than engage in the kind of “activism” that merely seeks big media attention (those kinds of projects, we observe, devolve around the dictates of the commercial media and are rendered impotent by them).
This video (less than five minutes long), produced at the 2010 school, introduces the Media Mobilizing Project as of 18 months ago (Milena has many impressive updates to deliver on its journey since then) and is the third required video for applicants to these scholarships:
We especially encourage applicants who have the will to do similar “from below” media organizing in New York, or bring your already existing authentic media projects to such a venture in a town that we believe is ripe for its own version of the MMP, albeit with New Yorker personality and flair. If you apply for this scholarship, make sure to note that in your application.”
Sure would be good if a participant or two from TODville who live nearby and have an interest in media could apply for a scholarship to attend.
I am just relieved to see organizing around the issue of media activism. It will be up to us to build a new information highway.
I’m gonna pass this around.
The sun also set after President Obama’s speech.
THIS… +1,000,000 x
The gopolitco are truly absurd!
Hahaha. Absolutely correct Bill. Politico always pulls absurd ridiculous nonsense out of their behinds. There is categorically no correlation to the plunge in the markets on friday and President Obama’s speech on thursday. The ongoing problems in the Eurpopean Union are directly related to the happenings on the stock market.
They also do a disservice to Americans by keeping them ignorant of the details of the European crisis. They can’t make decisions about their own lives and the need to quickly stabilize the economy when they’re being fed a bunch of nonsense by the media. It’s malpractice.
The people who want work welcome the Pres8ident’s speech. Wall St. has already gotten it’s bailout, now it’s time to help the unemployed, the middle class and poor. We need jobs. So honestly the heck with playing these games. People are suffering, they need jobs.
I agree that the Presidents Speech did not cause the stock market decline. I agree because the stock market rises and falls for the most part on speculation and manipulation. I have found throughout my life little to no correlation between the actual economy and the stock market.
We have been under the impression that one drives the other because of the history we have head that the stock market crash caused the great depression. While they occurred somewhat contemporaneous, they were not directly related. The depression was caused by two primary events mostly unrelated. 1.) The advent of a long term mid-west drought and the creation of the “Dust Bowl.” 2.) The poor reaction to the crisis by the banks and the federal reserve who did not take the correct steps to cure the crisis quickly.
Yes the President did not cause the stock market drop. In my years I really have never seen a Presidents speech cause a drop. Brokers my call out a speech to justify manipulations to increase buying and selling so they can make more money but it is not the speech that I feel causes any changes. One thing of note however is that during the speech in a throw-away, feel-good line the President did touch on the roots of our current economic crisis. President Obama rhetorically asked, “Where would our country be today if we have not approved Medicare and Medicaid?”
Instead of a throw-away this is actually one of the key questions. I would suggest your readers see this article for some more information. http://wp.me/p1EoHE-8N.
A new voice., Thanks for your insights and welcome to our community.
I have told you all this before, the MSM uses go politico for their headlines!
They are lazy and they must think they have journalists that are not lazy!
Problem is 85% of the journalists over there are far right!
I’ve been challenged by the O’Campaign to get (5) $5.00 donations by Monday @ 8:00 am. 2 down and just 3 more to go. Can you please help me meet this goal?
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/2012/donnanoshock3
You betcha!!
Gave you $50. Will that work for your challenge?
Btw: I briefly watched msnb-Fox today! They had on the non bias independent Charlie Cook! Cough!
He put a damper on the 31 million people that watched the speech and basically said the speech was a joke and to not pay any attention to the President!
Typical!
Jovie, isn’t that the reason why we say, don’t put so much stock in what these people say.He can not put a damper on the fact that 31 million people watch the President’s speech. Only if you allow him too. People need jobs, and unless Charlie Cook can create those jobs, he need to shut his mouth. People are tired of all this B.S. from the media, the do nothing T-Republicans, Washington D.C.
The sun is shining after hurricanes and clouds. People are not glued to their sets listening to some dude they never heard of 🙂
We ALL should get some fresh air from time to time. Look up at the sky. It’s a big world out there, helps to keep things in perspective.
it’s a media lynching that they are doing to the President;point and simple
After visiting all three sites on Sunday, the President will make remarks at the Kennedy Center!
Heads up guys: C-Span One at 12:30PM EDT/11:30AM CDT/9:30AM PDT will have live coverage of the Shanksville Memorial Dedication with VP Biden. For those who can’t watch it on tv, you can go to http://www.cspan.org/live/
The coverage is about to begin.
hi UT;nice to see ya.Link not working unfortunately but thank you anyway
Hey Fred, nice to see ya too. Thanks for the heads up. Here’s the correct link:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Flight-93-National-Memorial-Dedicated-Today/10737423968-1/
thanks UT
Well, their was a deal reached last night on FAA and tge highway bill!
The highway bill will be funded at fy 2011 levels to the end of march!
The FAA bill will be funded to the end of January with backpay!
To be both voted on next week!
Nice!
very nice.
I have noticed that the stock market has very little to do with anything happening in this country any more. It’s a global stock market, affected by anything of significance happening anywhere in the world. Up and down and down and up with the events of the world. Heard one of the financial guys say that most people are not aware that most of those invested in our stock market are not American.
So does this mean that when the stock market goes back up Politico will give President Obama all the credit?? NOT! When the stock market goes back up all we will get from Politico is CRICKETS. It’s only news when they can present the negative narrative. Which just shows that this was a cheap shot at President Obama. The stock market just doesn’t work like that and they know it.
I wish Media Matters would expand their focus off of Fox exclusively.
Jeez, no wonder the viewership for the six o’clock news is plummeting. The President hit it out of the park with his speech Thursday evening. The desperate, misleading, headlines put out there by the MSM, are a testament to that. They don’t like him going over their chattering heads, and taking to the people. People cannot afford to wait around,while the congress tries to eff up this bill, they needed those jobs yesterday.
I think we can all agree now that we have the laziest mainstream media in the entire world
it not laziest that drive them it money at any cost they are the one who supported bush wmd. Big Money =Republican and The Media. They have there marching order. Take down Obama at any cost.
I’m interested to know how many more millions of people watched the President’s speech than watch ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, FOX and CNN combined for evening news. I KNOW his number topped the three networks in viewers…..
Ngeh, Politico, go find some place to PLUNGE yourselves.