Three-fourths of Americans believe media fueled economic downtown

Jack McElroy of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that a recent survey by Opinion Research Corporation found that 77 percent of Americans say the media are contributing to the economic downturn by making people feel scared.

McElroy writes, “That may well be true. There’s clearly a mass-psychology dimension to economic swings. Greed can drive markets up, and fear can drive them down.

“A responsible news organization shouldn’t play to fears or blow isolated occurences out of proportion. But, at the same time, it shouldn’t be blindly boosterish or portray the world through rose-colored glasses.

“Serious bad news has to be given the attention it deserves.

“Unfortunately, that will be the case in tomorrow’s paper, where our six-column banner is slated to read: ‘Economic whammy.’ In the past 24 hours, the Knoxville area has learned of the Goody’s liquidation and major layoffs at Alcoa and Sea Ray.“

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