The responsibility of the press (in South Africa anyway) is laid out by the Press Code (I would imagine that a fairly similar set of standards prevails in most countries). The code requires journalism to present the news accurately and fairly, in context and in a balanced manner.
In any paper you pick up today, you will read that public confidence is extremely low due to the global financial crisis. Is this not a self-fulfilling prophecy? Follow my thinking :
- Newspapers (for the most part) print only bad news about the current economic outlook.
- People read this, public confidence dips.
- They then interview their readership to discover *gasp* public confidence is low.
- People read this, public confidence dips (even more).
I worry that a newspaper's first priority is to sell papers to make money and the second is to present fair and accurate news. While not mutually exclusive they can often be opposing forces.
Another non-business example of this in Australia was brought about by the sudden retirement of Matthew Hayden (a long serving member of the national cricket team). Last week every newspapers was a critic, saying he has lost form, he should not be selected etc. Then the day he retires, the same newspapers sing his praises, what a legend of the game, sad to see him go, who could possibly replace him?
Give me a break.
The truth is, it's not all bad news and you should not believe everything you read. Businesses are suceeding in these times, and so can yours.
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