Business press not trying to sensationalize housing market woes

Earl Maucker, the editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, responds to reader complaints that the newspaper is sensationalizing the drop in housing prices by arguing that the issue is news.

Maucker wrote, “If we were to rewind to the past two to three years, you would find just as many headlines and front-page stories reporting 30 percent increases in the price of homes and a housing market that was in the midst of a historic building boom.

“Here is another fact we can’t ignore: Based on our research, our readers rate stories about the cost of living, the price of housing, property tax and trends in the housing business among the top stories they want to read about.

“Everybody is impacted by this story. It is one of a number of pocketbook issues that affect readers directly, and they have an enormous appetite for information.

“So stories about the slump — just as stories a year ago about the red-hot housing market — are and will continue to be front page news.”

Read more here.