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how much is the media to blame for the current economic mess?

B

BlahBlahYouToo

Lifer
i know it's their job to report, but i can't help but think that the headlines they choose, the embellished stories they write, are contributing to the current state of our economy.

media headlines are the sky is falling. everybody gets fearful and they stop lending and spending, which of course means job cutbacks, layoffs, lowered manufacturing etc.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I blame HGTV for making everyone think that they can flip a house.
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i was going to say the media? wtf you nuts!?

but i think i agree with this. HGTV had all these shows that made it look easy to buy a house, put in $12k and make 100k!

some of them were silly. one guy purchased a house for $150k put in $20k and claims to sold it for $275. the work he did (himself) was so bad i think i could do better.

but loved the newer ones. they buy a house for $300k and put in $50k and then sit on teh house for a year..or finally sale it for $250k LOL

yeah its not right but i laughed at them.
 
i do think the media is not helping by always trying to play the scare tactics on everyone.

i mean over the holiday, the malls by me were busy as ever, and the fact that amazon had their best holiday season EVER by a long shot kind of shows us that people are still spending money and aren't all hidden away in their houses eating rice and saving all their money.
 
I heard ABC radio news this morning, proclaiming that the unemployment rate "skyrocketed" to 7.2%. :roll:

So yeah, I'm quite sure they're making a bad problem worse.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I blame HGTV for making everyone think that they can flip a house.
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haha, i noticed their shows aren't about making money by flipping houses anymore.
it's about how to fix up your house on the cheap so you lose the least while selling it, lol.
 
If we're going down the road of blaming anyone but the parties to the various unwise contracts that led to the mess (borrowers, lenders, insurers, investment bankers, securities brokers, investors) then media might be somewhere on the list of evildoers, but not particularly high on the list. IMHO the media fails in three ways. First as alluded to by the OP, the media fails in news reporting as the media is lazy and sensationalist, cranking out headline after headline with no in-depth reporting to back up the squawk and fury. Second, in non-news programming the media tends to portray a world where everybody is rich, even the poor people encouraging ridiculous expections of what can be obtained with modest means. Third, the advertising sector shows no responsibility at all in pitching products such as loans further encouraging dumb behavior. That having been said*, I've concluded that the media has no duty to do anything but make money so if you don't like it, turn it off.












*I stuck that phrase in there just to piss a couple people off, you know who you are.
 
I agree as well that the media has some role in the current economic situation. The crowd can be easily panicked at time, and if there really is some crisis it only gets worse by telling everyone about it.

However, I think the biggest people to blame are the banks and the people in congress that pushed them to give out loans to everyone that applies for one, and the morons that took out the loans without the ability of paying them back (Yes Utah, I'm speaking to you, since you carry the place of #1 in debt/person).
 
I'd say their role is minimal at best. Unless you think somehow the sub-prime fiasco can be pinned on them? No, I don't think so, the media isn't in the business of giving out 80/20 zero down loans for $150k to people with credit scores of 550.
 
Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
i know it's their job to report, but i can't help but think that the headlines they choose, the embellished stories they write, are contributing to the current state of our economy.

media headlines are the sky is falling. everybody gets fearful and they stop lending and spending, which of course means job cutbacks, layoffs, lowered manufacturing etc.
Click to expand...

wow... freaky... i was going to post a thread like this earlier, but didn't want to put in the effort. :laugh:

reason i thought of this is because someone was telling me last night that there were people in our area who really didn't realize "The Great Depression" was going on b/c of lack of media back then. they knew that some prices had went up but they just kept on working and living like it was no big deal.

i think all the doom and gloom reported by the media today definitely has a trickle down effect.
 
You put the blam on just about anything. Winters make me not want to go outside, so I don't spend as much = recession ..lol
 
Originally posted by: Casawi
You put the blam on just about anything. Winters make me not want to go outside, so I don't spend as much = recession ..lol
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Um, they compare economic activity to the same month last year and years previous to find the trend.

Nice try, though.

At any rate, yes, a media frenzy CAN and DOES causes people to panic. Hell, look at how paranoid parents are of child abductions when the rate is no higher than it was decades ago. Yet parents are afraid to allow their kids outside to play and to walk to school. Why? Because of the media.

 
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: Casawi
You put the blam on just about anything. Winters make me not want to go outside, so I don't spend as much = recession ..lol
Click to expand...

Um, they compare economic activity to the same month last year and years previous to find the trend.

Nice try, though.

At any rate, yes, a media frenzy CAN and DOES causes people to panic. Hell, look at how paranoid parents are of child abductions when the rate is no higher than it was decades ago. Yet parents are afraid to allow their kids outside to play and to walk to school. Why? Because of the media.
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You're blaming the media for the faults of people? 😛
 
Zero blame for the media. There have always been paranoid sensationalists who shout doom from on high, we just listen to them too much now and that is our fault. You can't even call a wacko a wacko today, you have to be tolerant of their views or you are closed-minded. Eventually you start listening to said wacko and thinking he may have a point when he's full of crap. The American people need to wake up and start thinking for themselves.

And, I know, <---P&N is that way.
 
Originally posted by: Paladin3
Zero blame for the media. There have always been paranoid sensationalists who shout doom from on high, we just listen to them too much now and that is our fault. You can't even call a wacko a wacko today, you have to be tolerant of their views or you are closed-minded. Eventually you start listening to said wacko and thinking he may have a point when he's full of crap. The American people need to wake up and start thinking for themselves.

And, I know, <---P&N is that way.
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While there have always been paranoid sensationalists they have not always all been paranoid sensationalists. The news today is agenda driven and homogenized to the point that it, and therefore we, have lost all perspective. The news decides on what the story will be and then reports the facts that fit the story instead of reporting the story that fits the facts.
 
I would say very much so. All you hear is doom and gloom. And perception is reality so if people perceive a crisis then they will make one.
 
if the reporters were able to catch Nixon and such, at least a few of them should have been able to figure out the housing give way scheme perpetuated by the Community Reinvestment Act
 
Originally posted by: FoBoT
if the reporters were able to catch Nixon and such, at least a few of them should have been able to figure out the housing give way scheme perpetuated by the Community Reinvestment Act
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That is exactly what I am talking about. Investigative journalism has gone the way of the dodo. Now the news tells us stories.
 
Over 70% of our GDP is base on consumer spending and you blame the Media for this financial mess. To be honest I really regret not tapping my home equity and take out $500K and let my home goes into forcloser or get a bail out..
 
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