‘Tis the season for bad propaganda and even worse holiday punnery. CBS News kicks off the holiday season with an oversized serving of pro-Biden stuffing, aiming to soften the impact of continued food inflation upon millions of American families celebrating Thanksgiving.
Take a look at CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell’s frame of a report on folks who have to pay more for holiday staples:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Well, Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and there is plenty to be thankful for when it comes to your budget. In tonight's "Money watch", CBS's Jo Ling Kent explains that while overall prices are lower, many Turkey Day classics have gotten a lot more expensive, and it starts on the farm.
Cut to senior business and tech correspondent Jo Ling Kent, walking alongside a turkey farmer:
JO LING KENT: Greg Gunthorp says inflation just won't quit, hitting the farm’s bottom line.
GREG GUNTHORP: Oh, inflation has drastically impacted, you know, our cost of production. Small family farms are having a difficult time figuring out where we fit in in the future in this, with all of this in inflation.
But Norah O’Donnell said there was much to be thankful for regarding the budget. Perhaps she meant except for turkey farmers.
What about shoppers hitting the stores for their beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, et.al?
KENT: And shoppers continue to battle inflation, too. While turkey prices sank 16% since last year, many other Thanksgiving staples are more expensive than ever. Canned cranberries will cost 60% more. Canned pumpkin prices have spiked 30%. And russet potatoes are up 14%.
SHOPPER 1: It’s super expensive and I am sharing the cost with some of my siblings.
SHOPPER 2: Definitely more conscious about what we purchase…
Uh, oh.
Cut to the CEO of Aldi in the U.S. who vows, along with Walmart, to cut prices in order to mitigate the effects of inflation. But how sustainable is that in a near-zero margin business such as retail grocery?
None of this really answers the lingering question: what, exactly, does Norah O’Donnell think is the reason that consumers “have plenty to be thankful for when it comes to (their) budget”? Showing none, it seems that the initial frame served no purpose other than to frame the terrible news of ongoing food inflation in a light most favorable to the Biden Administration- even if the frame made no sense whatsoever.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on CBS Evening News on Wednesday, November 15th, 2023:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Well, Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and there is plenty to be thankful for when it comes to your budget. In tonight's "Money watch", CBS's Jo Ling Kent explains that while overall prices are lower, many Turkey Day classics have gotten a lot more expensive, and it starts on the farm.
JO LING KENT: It's down to the wire at Gunthorp farms in Lagrange, Indiana. They are packing up the turkeys they raised, and shipping them out for Thanksgiving.
You are in high season right now
GREG GUNTHORP: Right. Yeah.
KENT: Like, crunch time.
GUNTHORP: Yeah, it's crunch time.
KENT: Greg Gunthorp says inflation just won't quit, hitting the farm’s bottom line.
GUNTHORP: Oh, inflation has drastically impacted, you know, our cost of production. Small family farms are having a difficult time figuring out where we fit in in the future in this, with all of this in inflation.
KENT: And shoppers continue to battle inflation, too. While turkey prices sank 16% since last year, many other Thanksgiving staples are more expensive than ever. Canned cranberries will cost 60% more. Canned pumpkin prices have spiked 30%. And russet potatoes are up 14%.
SHOPPER 1: It’s super expensive and I am sharing the cost with some of my siblings.
SHOPPER 2: Definitely more conscious about what we purchase…
KENT: Walmart is now promising to remove inflation by cutting prices on holiday favorites. Aldi slashed prices on more than 70 of the most popular Turkey Day items by up to 50%.
Would you say this is the most aggressive you’ve cut prices for Thanksgiving ever?
JASON HART: This is -- without a doubt.
KENT: Aldi’s U.S. CEO Jason Hart.
HART: Consumers are under pressure so we’ll keep these prices at least through the end of the year.
KENT: Are you basically taking a hit on prices because you think you’re going to win over customers in the long run here?
HART: That’s absolutely the case. That’s what we are all about. And all along the way, you know, driving costs out of the business, driving costs out of the product, and passing that savings on to the customer.
KENT: Savings that customers say they need this holiday season.
Do you think you’ll be able to stay on budget this year?
CUSTOMER 1: I think so. I think so. I don't know if I'm the right person to be in charge of this, but I'm doing my best.
KENT: Jo Ling Kent, CBS News, Orland Park, Illinois.
