Aggravating the Recession by reporting on it
Do you think the recession and the housing slump have become even worse because the media has talked about them? The president of the North Peninsula Building Association made this complaint at the Monday Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The PDN’s headline on Monday was about the housing crisis and recent layoffs at local mills, and Kevin Russell showed the group a copy of the PDN, saying “Why do we let the media drive our lives?”
This has been a long-running complaint, that when the media reports on a recession, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some downtown Port Angeles merchants are making a similar complaint: the PDN is driving away customers with their constant reporting on downtown construction projects and traffic jams.
It’s sort of an awkward situation; the media can't exactly stay hush-hush about economic news. And yet it does seem like the more news there is about the recession, the less people spend, and the cycle reinforces itself.
The PDN’s headline on Monday was about the housing crisis and recent layoffs at local mills, and Kevin Russell showed the group a copy of the PDN, saying “Why do we let the media drive our lives?”
This has been a long-running complaint, that when the media reports on a recession, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some downtown Port Angeles merchants are making a similar complaint: the PDN is driving away customers with their constant reporting on downtown construction projects and traffic jams.
It’s sort of an awkward situation; the media can't exactly stay hush-hush about economic news. And yet it does seem like the more news there is about the recession, the less people spend, and the cycle reinforces itself.
Labels: Kevin Russell, North Peninsula Building Association, Port Angeles downtown construction projects, Port Angeles recession, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce
posted by Tom Harper at 11:33 AM
9 Comments:
overall, I don't think there IS a recession. If you go to a city...the freeways are packed, the restaurants are busy, music venues are full, stores are buzzing with shoppers, parking is difficult to find. There are NO SIGNS of a recession.
I think the government is fooling with us, and the media is following a fake story.
The housing "crisis" is an issue, as are gas prices, as is inflation. But, I don't think we are in a recession at this moment.
AS for locally....yes, its depressed. We are rural, isolated, and the downtown dig projects are causing a restriction of business, a barrier to trade (which I'd hope could be a class action suit against the city because to schedule all these projects at ONCE is inane and totally irresponsible).
However, Walmart, Costco...they're doing a booming business. The big box stores aren't hurting for business. Silverdale Mall is always hopping. So, I don't see a local recession, aside from the lumber mills (but I'm certain this just allows more logs to get shipped overseas).
And actually, today, things are looking up. Sales rebounded quite dramatically in January after a lackluster Christmas, which is driving the stock market higher after a disastrous run of losses. So maybe the PDN could print this GOOD news, too??? If the media do indeed drive the market, then let's have the good news along with the bad.
I also agree with anonymous (above) that things are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be. And the huge amount of construction downtown is hurting business. But it's temporary. If everybody can hold on, and if we all help out by shopping locally, it will get better.
Let's all pull together, OK?
Them libberal medias elites!
I don't think newspapers should suppress economic news, but they don't have to shout it from the headlines. Every paper has a business section where people go to get news about the economy. Everyone can find out what they need to know without being told by front page headlines how terrible everything is.
Abolish the First Amendment! We should only hear what out transparent government wants us to hear! Spend! Spend! Spend!
Abolish the 2nd and 4th too! An unarmed populace has nothing to hide if they are not guilty of anything!
Geez, if there were not people wanting to gawk at plane/car/train wrecks, they wouldnt report on them.
You mistakenly think the news corps are interested in telling you news but really all they do is make money for their shareholders. If you aint watching (or reading or listening) you are not watching (or reading or listening) to the comericals. Therefore, Blood on the highway, film at 11! . They talk about ethics but so did the pirates of the caribbian....
Dont confuse news with 'truth' or 'fact' either, they are just repeating the crap that other people say. If you can't tell the difference, don't listen or don't complain.
There are a lot of merchants (probably everywhere, not just Port Angeles) who seem to treat their business like a 9 to 5 job. They think if they go in and open up their store and just sit there watching the clock til 5 p.m., customers will automatically come streaming in and buy things. This is not always the case.
Some merchants are really into what they're doing, and it shows. The energy they put into their business, knowing how to market their merchandise and how to attract and keep customers, these are the people who will be successful no matter what happens.
The others, the ones that don't have enough interest or knowledge or effort, these will be the people who suffer when times are bad. And instead of looking at what they're doing and what they could be doing differently, they will blame "the economy" or "not enough parking" or "the media."
There is a lot of information on the internet ("use the google") about window displays, merchandising, customer relations, etc. All self-employed people should be using and applying this information.
The dollar is virtually worthless.
Stores in New York City are accepting other currencies rather than take American dollars. Bill Gates and Dick Cheney, among others, are converting their assets from dollars to Euros.
When the economic meltdown occurs, and it will, it's going to be worse than the Great Depression ... it will be like Germany in the 1920s.
Goodluck, suckahs!
annon, you said "There is a lot of information on the internet ("use the google") about window displays, merchandising, customer relations, etc."
Use THE google? It's not a "the".
Next, have you done this? There is very little good information on how to run a business in a little town that has every street downtown torn up, and a massive freaky project, and two bridges torn down. There is little information on how to overcome the "lack of interest" (in anything not Walmart) of the greater part of the population. Store displays, while nice, cost money, and time.
You must not own a business!!! And, you certainly are NOT self employed.
Post a Comment
<< Home