Since the fiscal poop hit the fan in 2007 and came home to ferment in 2008, everyone everywhere was looking for their personal scapegoat. It was the shady lending practices and financial institutions preying on the poor, it was the lax regulations not being imposed properly by the government, it was the uneducated consumer buying products they cannot afford – but of all the fingers pointed in every direction, my personal favorite -- it was the media. There have been a few mentions of media’s influence on the rise and fall of the housing bubble and some seem to think if mass media would have just turned a blind eye, everything would have smoothed over and the problem would have gone away.
While I can’t argue the fact that mass media did feed a frenzy of greed, with its HGTV and all the “Flip My House” shows popping up on every channel, I cannot accept even PBS’ partial blame on media outlets for not doing a better job keeping the mayhem in check.
“The media also deserve blame in helping to promote the housing bubble. It is reasonable to expect that at least some reporters would have sufficient expertise that they could independently evaluate the state of the housing market. If the major news outlets were running regular pieces on the housing bubble and the risks it posed to the economy and homeowners, it is likely that it would have burst somewhat sooner. In fact, warnings on the bubble very rarely appeared in the media.”
As crass as it is to say, the media is in business to tell a story and ultimately make money. While I do agree media outlets are responsible for doing their due diligence in reporting truthful information, it is not your nightly news anchor’s job to warn you of the potential harm in buying a home. The nightly news anchors are not paid to “independently evaluate” the news given to them to be reported. Under few (if any) circumstances I would expect a news anchor to chime in and give their personal, or even experienced, opinion. Under no circumstance would I expect any news anchor to still hold a job had they defied their producer/editor or whoever is turning the prompter at the time.
I believe PBS’ suggestion was a slippery slope at best. Who then would be responsible for “warning” the public about the potential risks in the commercials “What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas”? Would the media outlets then need to add a disclaimer warning of the potential risks when they have the stock ticker moving across the bottom of the screen? Would your employer need to warn you of the risks in saving money in your 401k?
Of all the fingers pointed in every direction not once I have seen any finger pointed toward self accountability. The only reason I say this, is because, as stated earlier, the media is in business to report the news, it’s the individual’s responsibility to digest that information accordingly.
