Monday, March 31, 2008

Not Putting It All Together (Butler Shaffer)

Butler Shaffer blogs that CNN can have the facts staring them straight in the face and still not get it:

CNN just had two back-to-back news reports. The first told of Aloha Airlines terminating all of its passenger service, due to financial difficulties. The second story told of the efforts of the U.S. and many European governments to eliminate the restrictions on airlines from one country flying to another. Now, CNN chirped, an American airline could schedule flights from New York to London as freely as it now flies from New York to Chicago. European airlines could schedule flights from London to Los Angeles with the same facility.

These reports could have provided CNN the opportunity to explain to viewers how the present plight of many airlines - as well as other businesses - stems from the restrictive and costly consequences of government regulation. What was presented as a creative effort by Western governments to deal with airline difficulties amounted to nothing more than the "bold" effort to enhance profitability by having governments get out of the way of those seeking profits!

What, instead, did CNN report on immediately after these two? The story of a dog that had been thrown off an overpass and survived!

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