Is the Media to Blame for Making Economic Crisis Worse?

/PRNewswire/ -- An overwhelming 77 percent of Americans believe that the US media is making the economic situation worse by projecting fear into people's minds. The majority of those surveyed feel that the financial press, by focusing on and embellishing negative news, is damaging consumer confidence and damping investment, making a difficult situation much worse.

Richard L. Scheff, a national expert on corporate liability and white collar crime issues, warns media that they could potentially be exposed to liability despite apparent constitutional protections:

"Although statements by the media are protected by the First Amendment, the survey results demonstrate that the public believes that the press bears some responsibility for the lack of confidence in the economy. One would hope that these media would act less out of self-interest in these times of national crisis. I could see creative lawyers attempting to pierce constitutional protections by constructing theories of liability for losses they may allege were driven by irresponsible news releases," said Mr. Scheff, vice chairman and partner with Philadelphia-based law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.

The US survey of 1000 adults was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, on behalf of Park Lane Communications, and is statistically representative of the total U.S. population. The survey question asked was: "Do you think the financial press is making the economic crisis worse by projecting fear into people's minds?" While the overall response indicated that 77% of Americans answered YES, here are some highlights of note:

Household Incomes:
$25k - $35k - 79% answered YES
$35k - $50k - 88% answered YES
$50k - $75k - 76% answered YES
$75k - more - 78% answered YES

Demographics:
85% of young adults (18-24 yrs old) answered YES
77% of males and females alike answered YES
65% of blacks answered YES

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Veeeerrrryyy Interesting

The Fayette Front Page put number trackers on all of their blogs (along with the ability for people to sign up for email notification when blogs are updated). Then they put a bunch of the blogs across the top of the page to let their readers know about the blogs.

This one is topping the charts.

I think it's the title.

But here's the question: Is it because it's a catchy title or is it because people are drawn to the negative?

Next in line numbers-wise are State and National Election News (SNEN) and The Barefoot Photographer.

Now the numbers include people from anywhere who hit on the blogs, not just people coming from my current home, Fayette County, GA. I can see that with all the interest in the Presidential elections that the SNEN column would be getting a lot of pings given the number of candidates that it's keeping up with.

The Barefoot Photographer is a great blog for those who enjoy photography. The writer, Donna Rosser, has a photography club at the Fayette Art Center and Gallery, plus she teaches. Love her work.

Back to the question of human nature. Because that's what my original question was really about. Are we drawn to the negative? Is it human nature or have we been trained by the media, the movies, the television programs, the news?

Or, do you simply like the title?

Me, I love the title.