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The Media Hypothesis
By Demosthenes | November 14, 2008
Maybe I’m naive, but as I’ve observed dramatic changes in our economy over the years, I’ve often hypothesized that the media not only exacerbates economic problems, but more likely actually causes them. Of course it is always more pronounced when we have a Republican administration, because the media loves nothing more than to cause harm to all things conservative.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the media actually “talked up” the economy rather than trash it? If consumers weren’t constantly told how bad things are, they might actually be inclined to buy more things.
I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently. He happens to have a very stable job, and his retirement is not tied up in a 401(k) or anything else associated with the stock market. He was very troubled about the economy. He actually said he was losing sleep over it. I asked him if he had any less disposable income now than he did six months ago. Nope. I asked him if was worried about losing his job. Nope. Well then, why is does he think things are so bad? Well, it turns out he had recently seen a newsclip with some photos of people in soup lines during the “Great Depression.” Sigh.
To me, this is nothing more than political propoganda disguised as “objective” journalism. Remember, communist soviets used clips of the great depression to show their public what America was like during the Reagan era.
Look, I’m not a fool. I realize our economy is having serious problems. I just happen to think it would have been a lot better if the media weren’t pounding it into our skulls every day in newspapers and television.
Topics: General | 7 Comments »
7 Responses to “The Media Hypothesis”
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November 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
The Democrats have been talking the economy down for the last 5 years. Charles Schumer, Chrm. of the Democrats’ Senate Reelection Committee was in front of every available camera and microphone bewailing the condition of the economy — at least until he went too far and caused a bank run. Obama was simply practicing Alinsky tactics — telling everyone, every day, how terrible their situation was –”rubbing raw the sores of discontent.”
The mortgage crisis story is spelled out here:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=310173877357981
November 15th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Great point. That article from IBD is one of the best I’ve seen. Thanks for the reference. Too bad the public wasn’t interested enough to look into this in any detail. I guess people hear what they want to hear.