Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the 220 point tumble on the Dow this afternoon is at least partly the fault of the hacks, who insist on writing headline after headline about those pesky bond insurers, that darned oil price, and that whole housing market – er, issue.
Chuck Raasch, in an article at The Daily Journal, contends that worries over “the unprecedented economic and structural challenges facing journalism” might be affecting journalists’ coverage of the overall economy. Raasch writes:
Unemployment is up, gas prices are rising, the stock market is down and families feel pinched by the price of staples like food and health care. And yet, as The Washington Post recently pointed out, unemployment, inflation and interest rates are not approaching the levels they were during energy shocks of the 1970s and 1980s.
Still, there is no denying that the headlines about the headline writers are particularly grim these days with traditional media companies reporting falling profits, and layoffs and buyouts pummelling journalists where they work.
And it’s much the same thing on the other side of the Atlantic, according to Michael White, a former political editor of the Guardian:
With honourable exceptions everyone in the media pack is playing the gloomster game at the moment. Since confidence is so important to a moment like this, the media – over-bullish on the up-cycle – is helping talk us over the cliff. But it isn’t the 60s, let alone the 70s. The economy is not suffering a recession, let alone “stagflation”. Most indicators are still good. Indeed, one well-known pundit of my acquaintance said last night: “All we have is a building-society crisis.” That’s over-bullish too, but better than jumping off the cliff.
The FT, which ought to know better, has been as bad as the rest. This week it tucked away the news that the UK is still Europe’s top destination for foreign investment. It also under-reported news that rich non-dom residents, the ones facing Alistair Darling’s new tax bills, aren’t fleeing the country in droves after all, despite months of dreary special pleading on behalf of its readers. Yacht sales are still doing well, it reported recently.
Can’t argue with yacht sales, because that’s a much better economic indicator than, say, inflation. Or housing starts. Or unemployment.
Right. FT Alphaville is putting on a happy face – bank writedowns be darned.
Related links:
Why are you angry today? – Angryjournalist.com