Fox Doesn't Have Time For Landmark Low In Unemployment Claims

Fox News let the fact that weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 2008 go completely unreported.

On August 1, the Department of Labor released its weekly jobless claims report, which showed the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 326,000. The number came in lower than economists' expectations, and was the lowest level of initial claims in five and a half years.

Virtually every news report noted in the headline that the number reached a landmark low. While reports were tempered with the caveat that summer claims tend to be volatile, the four-week moving average -- a much more stable measure -- also fell to 341,250, a level consistent with those seen in early 2008.

Fox didn't seem to think the news warranted any attention. When the initial claims report was released, Fox & Friends devoted only 16 seconds to the numbers. While co-host Alisyn Camerota noted that the number came in below expectations, she failed to mention the landmark news behind the report:

On the following program, America's Newsroom, no time was dedicated to the report. America's Newsroom typically hosts Fox Business' Stuart Varney or Nicole Petallides within the first hour of the program to either downplay positive news in the report or hype negative news, but not on August 1.

Failing to report positive developments in the economy is standard for the network.