Did TV Coverage of Stimulus Miss Point?

There were plenty of familiar faces on-screen during TV coverage of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, people like James Carville, Laura Ingraham, Karl Rove, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Joe Trippi and Dick Morris. What it lacked, some critics suggest, were people with real expertise in what the $787 billion plan will mean for the economy and for communities and individuals. In short, it was treated like just another political battle. Of the 681 people who appeared as guests on a dozen cable news and four network Sunday morning talk shows in the three weeks that ended last Sunday, only 41, or 6 percent, were economists, said the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America. That count alone indicates a lack of effort in tracking down what was most important about the story, said Erikka Knuti, the organization's spokeswoman. "Hearing whether or not this package is going to work is more important than who has the snappiest quip," she said.