Out of focus

Television is the most influential medium in the history of mankind. More Americans own a TV than have telephones or indoor plumbing. We are 13 times more likely to watch television than read a newspaper or magazine. What Americans watch on the "tube" is what Americans, to a significant extent, learn about life, their society and their nation. Of this there is no dispute. TV profoundly affects its viewers' attitudes on violence, sex, women, gays, and other hotly-debated social issues of our day. In Out of Focus: Network Television and the American Economy, Pines and Lamer examine TV's accuracy in portraying the American economy. What they find is disturbing. According to Out of Focus, what viewers see on TV is the American free-enterprise system distorted into a tale of catastrophes, bankruptcies, fraud, and ineptitude, populated by white businessmen who are criminals and conmen, and consumers who are stupid, gullible, and powerless. It is not surprising, then, that Americans don't understand much about their economy, and for this, network television shares much of the blame. So concludes Out of Focus, with an unprecedented, comprehensive analysis of all network television newscasts in 1992 and a quarter of the year's entertainment programming. Unfortunately, most Americans' only source of economic information comes from their daily dose of TV (an average of 4 hours a day), and dangerous misinformation affects their personal financial decisions and their outlook on government policy. Pines sets out to end this misinformation in Out of Focus. Naming names, Pines ranks the year's best and worst economic reporters and stories. He also offers sound solutions both for journalists to improve their coverage of economic issues and for viewers to improve the quality of what they watch.