The Press and the Economy

[rowech]

Does the press have a responsibility not to throw everyone into more of a panic than is needed? We're in a recession where to stimulate the economy, as I understand it, we need to have people spend money. Every website has five stories about how dire thigns are. Who is going to go out and spend their money when it's like this? They are feeding this monster more and more so more and more people believe it's the worst thing ever and they hold onto all their money.

[AgustusM]

I know that we have felt the crunch and have been spending a lot less money. But one thing that always surprises me is when I do need to get something how busy the stores are.

[path12]

Knowledge is power. I'm glad to see the economy finally getting some coverage. It's about a year or two too late IMO.

[rowech]

I should say I don't mind it getting coverage...it needs to...what it's getting though -- to me -- is way overdone and is going to end up causing even more panic than there needs to be.

[lungs]

Umm, I'm not going to pass on buying something because the press is doom and gloom. I'm going to check my bank account.

And maybe a lot of people should be doing the same instead of running up insane credit card debt.

[RainMaker]

It's not really the press' responsibility to write for the economy. They are supposed to just present what is happening in the world.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It's not really the press' responsibility to write for the economy. They are supposed to just present what is happening in the world.

I think the point is, they are exaggerating the extent of the recession somewhat, painting everything as gloom and doom, rather than impassively presenting the facts.

[molson]

The thing that annoys me is the misleading reporting that makes things seem worse then they are.

The WSJ had a headline a month or two ago about about the "worst month for lost jobs since 1940!" And of course, they measured total job loss, when the US population today is far higher than it was back than. Proportionally, there have been many, far greater months of job losses.

The media is trying to incite more panic, and they'll twist the data around to do it. That can't be great for the economy.

[DataKing]

The less time we're in stores spending money, the more time we're sitting at home, watching the news.

[path12]

Originally Posted by molson

The thing that annoys me is the misleading reporting that makes things seem worse then they are.

The WSJ had a headline a month or two ago about about the "worst month for lost jobs since 1940!" And of course, they measured total job loss, when the US population today is far higher than it was back than. Proportionally, there have been many, far greater months of job losses.

The media is trying to incite more panic, and they'll twist the data around to do it. That can't be great for the economy.

As I understand it over the past 25 years or so the U3 unemployment number measurements have been altered pretty substantially to the point that today's percentage numbers are a good three-odd points lower than how it was measured before......so I guess maybe that balances out with the total job loss numbers you mention!

Or maybe it's the U6 numbers. I'm still learning about all this shit and can't keep some of this stuff straight.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Samdari

I think the point is, they are exaggerating the extent of the recession somewhat, painting everything as gloom and doom, rather than impassively presenting the facts.

I don't know about that. It's taken us a trillion dollars just to ensure every major bank in the country didn't collapse into nothing. When most major banks and financial institutions need government help to survive, unemployment reaches record levels, and 40% of people's investments are wiped out, things are pretty bad.

[TCY Junkie]

I hate it when I'm listening to the radio and don't have time to change it before they start talking. They said in times like these blankety blank was the best way to save money. Everyone save money, then when you don't buy something some jobs are cut, soon enough so will yours. With the money you saved you can buy an old postage stamp and pay a virgin to lick it for you.

[path12]

Originally Posted by TCY Junkie

With the money you saved you can buy an old postage stamp and pay a virgin to lick it for you.

Paging Hell Atlantic.

[Noop]

*Puts on tinfoil hat*

I think this is a prelude to a new world order, get things so bad that America will accept anything that will end the suffering.

*Removes tinfoil hat*

[SportsDino]

I agree the media is just making things worst. The financial media even worst, encouraging people to keep guesstimating bottoms and peaks and causing them even bigger losses from bad timing.

The panic-mongering, and constant "Oh the DOW is up 300, what a good day." and "Oh the DOW is down 200, the end of the world is nigh" is very destructive. Especially with so many people making economic decisions based on trends and panic data rather than fundamental cash flow and company value analysis.

[Fighter of Foo]

Traditional media has sagging numbers. Scared people consume more media.
So traditional media = sensationalist stories.

If you rely on traditional media to tell you what is going on in the world and how to think, you almost assuredly have a very, very warped idea of what's going on. That goes for any topic, not just the economy.

[Mustang]

I'm just tired of the stories that are stories of hardship, but they really aren't anywhere close to that level. A boo-hoo story about Betty Ann having to cut back on facials and Starbucks is not hardship.

[path12]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I'm just tired of the stories that are stories of hardship, but they really aren't anywhere close to that level. A boo-hoo story about Betty Ann having to cut back on facials and Starbucks is not hardship.

Dating A Banker Anonymous

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Samdari

I think the point is, they are exaggerating the extent of the recession somewhat, painting everything as gloom and doom, rather than impassively presenting the facts.

How much of that do you suppose is the print news industry facing its own death siren and freaking the fuck out about how to sell more newspapers?

[TCY Junkie]

Originally Posted by path12

Paging Hell Atlantic.

I was just saying that it does more harm to save then spend wisely and I'm flexible.

[path12]

Originally Posted by TCY Junkie

I was just saying that it does more harm to save then spend wisely and I'm flexible.

I was just referring to the virgin part, not dissing your comment.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by path12

Dating A Banker Anonymous

LOL. That made my skin crawl.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And on the other hand, I've been mildly bemused by the media soft selling the utterly dire situation we're in. And would probably say the most irresponsible thing they've done so far is fail to present what appears to be the very real possibility that this is as good as it's going to get, that the only place left to go is a lot further down.

[path12]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And on the other hand, I've been mildly bemused by the media soft selling the utterly dire situation we're in. And would probably say the most irresponsible thing they've done so far is fail to present what appears to be the very real possibility that this is as good as it's going to get, that the only place left to go is a lot further down.

CNBC has called more bottoms than (insert your punch line here).

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And on the other hand, I've been mildly bemused by the media soft selling the utterly dire situation we're in. And would probably say the most irresponsible thing they've done so far is fail to present what appears to be the very real possibility that this is as good as it's going to get, that the only place left to go is a lot further down.

I think it's a very distinct possibility that the late 90s were the best economic times I'll ever see in my lifetime. I have no problems with that since, near as I can tell, the only times where the economy has been near that good in the last 100 years was the 20s.

If the time from, say, 03-07 is the best I'll see for the rest of my life- well, let's just say I'm worried it's a possibility and even more depressed that it might be true since it never felt like we got much out of the recession of the early 00s. Stats seem to be bearing this out, too- basically some rich got richer but everyone else's median salary just keep going down with regards to inflation.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by path12

CNBC has called more bottoms than (insert your punch line here).

You point out to me that I should have been more specific and said "mainstream media" I think.

There's a pretty good chance that quite a few FOFC'ers could stick their heads out of their window & yell warnings once an hour for a day & reach more people than watch CNBC.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by path12

Dating A Banker Anonymous

What a bunch of gold digger bitches on that site. Jebus Thrist I must find me a wife now while I am poor because it will become damn near impossible once I become a lawyer.

[gstelmack]

To answer the thread, I think the media stopped accepting its responsibilities sometime back in the '80s.

As for the economy, I've said it before, I'll say it again: the problem is that ALL economic news is bad. We were told people needed to save, now we're told we need to spend. No matter which way taxes go, that's bad. No matter which way oil goes, that's bad. How are people supposed to figure this out?

[path12]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You point out to me that I should have been more specific and said "mainstream media" I think.

There's a pretty good chance that quite a few FOFC'ers could stick their heads out of their window & yell warnings once an hour for a day & reach more people than watch CNBC.

LOL. But Cramer is so entertaining!

I doubt my "esteem" for the media in our country could be lower.

[molson]

If it wasn't to paying attention to the news, I still wouldn't have noticed this recession (except for the lower gas prices). Of course, I'm not a homeowner, I don't have any investments, my retirement account is still pretty much non-existent, and I'm in Idaho.

I'm not downplaying anyone else's misery, because I know it's out there. But only through the media.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by path12

Dating A Banker Anonymous

Wow... great arguments for why some segments of the rich should be shot into space.

SI

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

To answer the thread, I think the media stopped accepting its responsibilities sometime back in the '80s.

As for the economy, I've said it before, I'll say it again: the problem is that ALL economic news is bad. We were told people needed to save, now we're told we need to spend. No matter which way taxes go, that's bad. No matter which way oil goes, that's bad. How are people supposed to figure this out?

The thing with economics is its an inexact science and as such it works through such exact methods a guesswork and following the crowd in general.

An great example of this was the Oil prices last year - it was obvious they were seriously over-cooked but the economists attempted to explain the prices and validate their continual rise ... right up until they dropped where they all turned around and said they knew it was going to happen.

A similar thing is occurring with the economy today imho, simple put at present the economists are equating all news with 'bad' - GDP comes in far better than expected, ignore that focus on something else, Amazon beat their estimates hugely, ignore that focus on something else etc.

At some point though the economists scaremongering will have to give way to real world pressures and things will settle to a more realistic level.

The problem of course is that fear is real and no one knows exactly what a 'realistic' level is yet ... but one things for sure the bulk of he economists will be running in the wrong direction and shouting loudly about how awful things are right up to the point where the economy turns upward.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by TCY Junkie

I hate it when I'm listening to the radio and don't have time to change it before they start talking. They said in times like these blankety blank was the best way to save money. Everyone save money, then when you don't buy something some jobs are cut, soon enough so will yours. With the money you saved you can buy an old postage stamp and pay a virgin to lick it for you.

i'd pay a virgin to let me choke her with two hands, and when she finally had to gasp for air and opened her mouth i'd shove the stamp on her innocent tongue to moisten it. that's the best way. its like that rich guy who'd light $100 bills on fire to light his cigars.

[SportsDino]

On the oil runup, bad economists try to explain it with bullshit and then try to explain the blowup with more bullshit, and unfortunately there are lots of them and they are the ones our corporations and politicians have created (because they wanted yes men).

Good economists would have said something is screwy (many did) and explained what facts and models really do exist, instead of generalities and trend following. Today people pick facts and models to fit spot prices, when really it should be facts and models that spot prices float around but generally fit in the long run.

Note my model following ways have been wrong short term, for instance the crowd that would have shorted oil at 70 for a month short term would have made more money than I who bought oil at 70 and sold it short term for a day (I made like 5 bucks, where as the shorters for a month would have made like 25?). Systems can point to one price and reality can be different for any number of reasons (in my case I doubted the behavior of what I now call the negative bubble).... it may indicate the model is incorrect, oil really is worth just 40 dollars a barrel and the last few years we've been paying double that just for giggles, or that trend investing is creating yet another extreme that will only correct when real forces make it do so (i.e. I doubt various countries want to cut their economies in half to sell cheap for our benefit).

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by path12

Dating A Banker Anonymous

It’s the Economy, Girlfriend - NYTimes.com

Those guys are trying to get a show.

lol

[Arles]

Interesting article on the power (and damage) of fear and how layoffs combined with a loss in consumer confidence can ripple:

A Layoff in the Smith Family Ripples Through Town - WSJ.com

Given so much of the economy is based on "predicted success", I think the media and economic fear-mongering can be extremely damaging. The election cycles may be the apex as we move ahead. The party out of power (democrats in 2008 and republicans in 2010) will talk down the economy leading up and we will face a period of "mini-recessions" every couple years. Combine that with a mass-media that is everywhere and trying to maximize every story so that people will choose them over the 200 other options and you have a very unstable system.

Finally, you have the above point where every piece of economic news can be twisted (lower unemployment = bad for employers, higher unemployment = bad for the little guy, high house prices = people can't afford to buy, low house prices = people are stuck with bad mortgages...). I honestly have a hard time believing that we will ever be in a real "boon" from an economic standpoint anytime soon - regardless of whether the opportunity for boom is there or not.

[Sgran]

The media is entertainment. Seek and ye shall find. The media industry does nothing but mold itself to the whims of supply and demand. there are a few ethical journalists out there, but they're still answering to their editors.IMO blaming the media for anything is just plain silly. If anything, blame people for not equipping themselves with the skills to see through media machinations.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Sgran

The media is entertainment. Seek and ye shall find. The media industry does nothing but mold itself to the whims of supply and demand. there are a few ethical journalists out there, but they're still answering to their editors.IMO blaming the media for anything is just plain silly. If anything, blame people for not equipping themselves with the skills to see through media machinations.

The media gets special rights outlined in the Constitution. I think we have every right to question them and complain about them and blame them.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

It’s the Economy, Girlfriend - NYTimes.com

Those guys are trying to get a show.

lol

These girls really aren't even hot.