Media/Recession/Expected News
Media/Recession/Expected News
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Discussion

revrange

Original Poster:

1,182 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I think the media's role in the recession really needs addressing. New Labour/BBC "expected" news every morning can't help but put people in a bad mood. This morning, it was unemployment is "expected" to go past 2 million but actually it didn't. Yes I know its bad, but they helped talk us into a recession and are now working hard to make it a depression.
Call me old fashioned but shouldn't the news be based on facts, events that HAVE HAPPENED and not "expected"/might with a following wind! (see global warming for details) I know its part of the new labour "news" cycle and all about controlling the agenda but I believe that in these times its a dangerous game they are playing that makes matters worse.

Fittster

20,120 posts

242 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
If the media is responsible for the bust did it also cause the boom?

Do you make all your decisions based on the media?

Puggit

49,788 posts

277 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
But it's easier to sensationalize what might happen - as opposed to what boringly did happen.

revrange

Original Poster:

1,182 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Please don't get me wrong I don't blame the media for everything but I do think that they have made matters worse with the reporting and this "expected" news is really getting on my nerves when it turns out to be wrong.

AJS-

15,366 posts

265 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I tend to think the media should be able to report what it wants... free speech kind of thing.

Anyway, I believe that the whole idea of confidence as relates to economic performance is a bit over rated. Yes it can lead to short term swings but ultimately if a commodity, company or currency is in demand it's price will go up and if it's over supplied it's price will go down.

scorp

8,783 posts

258 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Fittster said:
If the media is responsible for the bust did it also cause the boom?

Do you make all your decisions based on the media?
Not sure how you would find out about what's going on in the wider country without the media ?

bobbylondonuk

2,205 posts

219 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Let us get real..the media does influence the attitude of consumers. Imagine how slower this recession would have been if the media did not scare the living daylights out of people? It may nor influence all of PH but it certainly does influence the majority of the population in UK...

The only way to proove it is to get the media to broadcast/publish good news and not give too much importance to the bad one...see the upturn happen faster!!!

AJS-

15,366 posts

265 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
bobbylondonuk said:
Let us get real..the media does influence the attitude of consumers. Imagine how slower this recession would have been if the media did not scare the living daylights out of people? It may nor influence all of PH but it certainly does influence the majority of the population in UK...

The only way to proove it is to get the media to broadcast/publish good news and not give too much importance to the bad one...see the upturn happen faster!!!
Or encourage people to carry on borrowing more than they can afford?

NoelWatson

11,710 posts

271 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
revrange said:
New Labour/BBC "expected" news every morning can't help but put people in a bad mood. This morning, it was unemployment is "expected" to go past 2 million but actually it didn't.
Would you say that your sample size of one is statistically significant?

Bing o

15,184 posts

248 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
bobbylondonuk said:
Let us get real..the media does influence the attitude of consumers. Imagine how slower this recession would have been if the media did not scare the living daylights out of people? It may nor influence all of PH but it certainly does influence the majority of the population in UK...

The only way to proove it is to get the media to broadcast/publish good news and not give too much importance to the bad one...see the upturn happen faster!!!
It worked for this guy:


Benny Saltstein

795 posts

242 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
Robert Peston has a lot to answer for. His entire manner isn't suited to broadcasting, its more suited to meeting my fist at high velocity. Plus he's a Labour stooge - he personally cooked up the whole recession with Brown over a bottle of vodka and some Borsch.

NoelWatson

11,710 posts

271 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
bobbylondonuk said:
Let us get real..the media does influence the attitude of consumers. Imagine how slower this recession would have been if the media did not scare the living daylights out of people? It may nor influence all of PH but it certainly does influence the majority of the population in UK...

The only way to proove it is to get the media to broadcast/publish good news and not give too much importance to the bad one...see the upturn happen faster!!!
Was this the view from your webcam as you typed this?


Simpo Two

92,662 posts

294 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I believe Labour control the media, so it's surprising that we aren't just fed good news, like '3,000 tractors exported' or 'Comrade Brown's birthday march-past'. OK you could suggest that they broadcast bad news so that Superhero Brown can leap in and save us - but why take the risk?

AJS-

15,366 posts

265 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
There definitely is a global downturn, so even with the Brown Broadcasting Company they can't gloss over that.

I think the focus on banks problems is a bit of a diversionary tactic though. Ultimately banks operate in a market and whether they go bust, get taken over or attract enough investment to scrape through, we will still have banks in 10 years time.

The real story of the current crisis to me is just how fked the government are, and how much debt they have run up. This is something that will go on hurting the country for years to come through higher taxes and lower growth across the economy as a whole.

Labour has a big constituency who have always had half an eye on the city and it's generous bonuses as simply grotesque, and so hauling them across the coals is good politics and a good diversion from how Royally they have fked it all up.

otolith

68,443 posts

233 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I think the media add a positive feedback loop to economic changes rooted in the behaviour of individuals. I don't really see what can be reasonably done to prevent it. Even if the mainstream media weren't doing it, people would still be scaring each other silly on the internet and down the pub.

bobbylondonuk

2,205 posts

219 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
NoelWatson said:
bobbylondonuk said:
Let us get real..the media does influence the attitude of consumers. Imagine how slower this recession would have been if the media did not scare the living daylights out of people? It may nor influence all of PH but it certainly does influence the majority of the population in UK...

The only way to proove it is to get the media to broadcast/publish good news and not give too much importance to the bad one...see the upturn happen faster!!!
Was this the view from your webcam as you typed this?

dont get upset....the media does influence a lot of the consumers...regarding the upturn Most of us would not borrow in excess but if others want to, after this current recession...they are crazy and will never learn

ipitythefool

13,697 posts

277 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
It's not just the media, it's all the financial 'experts' who seem to be given so much airtime. The ones who are 'chief economists' at some organisation or other.

I recall about 12 months ago one such expert predicting that there was a 1/3rd chance the UK would go into recession. Well guess what people do when you hear that???

2something

2,145 posts

237 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
The media churn out sensationalist crap (about boom and bust), whether you choose to believe it or not, is up to you.

The banks lent out stupid amounts of money, whether you chose to borrow stupid amounts was up to you.

Unfortunately a lot of people believe the sensationalist crap and a lot of people borrowed stupid amounts of money.

How much regulation would you like and do you trust the government when it comes to regulating our lives ?


Edited by 2something on Wednesday 11th February 11:27

David87M3

1,464 posts

263 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
I work in media (not news room) but am in the same area as news.
When we announced BT were cutting 1200 jobs, we broadcsat that as news. what we didnt say was X amount were temp contractors and Y had already gone within the last year. the real number of bt employee's to go was something like 400. But that didn't make good news compared to saying 1200 going. the "media" has a lot to answer for......

news needs regulating they should not be allowed to cherry pick the facys to make a good story.

Edited by David87M3 on Wednesday 11th February 11:30

Rude-boy

22,227 posts

262 months

Wednesday 11th February 2009
quotequote all
2something said:
The media churn out sensationalist crap (about boom and bust), whether you choose to believe it or not, is up to you.

The banks lent out stupid amounts of money, whether you chose to borrow stupid amounts was up to you.

Unfortunately a lot of people believe the sensationalist crap and a lot of people borrowed stupid amounts of money.

How much regulation would you like and do you trust the government when it comes to regulating our lives ?


Edited by 2something on Wednesday 11th February 11:27
Well said.

For every person I know who listens to a few different news sources and makes up their own mind there are 10 who listen blindly to what they hear on the Moyles show in the morning.

Like it or not the general public believe what the news tells them and it absolute fact that public sentiment is one of the driving forces of the economy. To think anything else is delusional in the extreme.

It is about time the media stopped being such a bunch of pricks and started to report the news rather than trying to make the news.