In a fire there is usually some either official or self-anointed person who tells people to please walk to the exits in an orderly fashion. This is usually required to counter that ever-present, panicky, over-caffeinated person who is screaming and running to the exit. This is the same person who manages to extract intense drama at back-to-school night. In the current crisis one of the very loud, panicked voices in the room is the media. It’s that announcer on NPR this morning that must have said the word “crash” 20 times in a five minute period. It’s the talking head comparing this to the Great Depression yet not really presenting any facts to counter the dramatic effect. They may not be technically wrong in what they’re spouting but it’s not helping. And it’s not fear for self preservation or good journalism that is driving it. It’s ratings and dollars. It’s the ad-driven infotainment industry that modern news organizations have become. So where is that calming voice that is imploring us to walk to the exits for our own good?
Normally it would be our President but we all know that is not going to work in this case. So in the absence of a singular leader we can turn to, how about if the Fed or some other organizing force created that calming voice? Where are the radio ads and commercials explaining the situation to Americans and the world? It won’t fix the problem of mortgage defaults. But it will at least potentially influence what has become the root problem, the psychology of the markets. In the past two weeks I haven’t heard a single government official on NPR that has been tasked with getting the message out that the government has an approach they think will work (of course that requires them to have one). Why not create a concerted media campaign to just calm people down. As part of that why not enlist the help of the media conglomerates. We all know that the patriarchs of these huge media conglomerates can influence the content on their properties. It would be a much bigger effort but not dissimilar to the networks agreeing to not broadcast election predictions until after all the polls have closed. Why not appeal to their civic obligations and enlist their help to be that calming voice alongside a well-orchestrated government campaign to do the same?
