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A new poll commissioned by Park Lane Communications and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation finds that most Americans believe the financial media is making the current economic crisis worse.

Onslaught of bad news

Given the current state of the economy, one is almost tempted to find a cave, crawl inside, pull a blanket over your eyes and wait for the economic storm to blow over. Instead, most of us are forced to stay out in the open and endure the daily onslaught of worsening economic news.

Here at Auto Credit Express, we try to be as optimistic and upbeat as possible, preferring to look at the current economy as a glass-half-full rather than glass-half-empty scenario. But even we have to admit that much of the news emanating out of the financial press is negative, which is why the results of a recent survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation are so topical concerning the current economy.

Media Responsibility

According to the press release from Park Lane Communications, “An overwhelming 77 percent of Americans believe that the US media is making the economic situation worse by projecting fear into people’s minds. The majority of those surveyed feel that the financial press, by focusing on and embellishing negative news, is damaging consumer confidence and damping investment, making a difficult situation much worse.”

The release goes on to quote Richard L. Scheff, a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Montgomery, McCracken and an expert on corporate liability and white collar crime as he presents a scenario in which media entities could very well be exposed to liability even though certain constitutional protections exist:

“Although statements by the media are protected by the First Amendment, the survey results demonstrate that the public believes that the press bears some responsibility for the lack of confidence in the economy. One would hope that these media would act less out of self-interest in these times of national crisis. I could see creative lawyers attempting to pierce constitutional protections by constructing theories of liability for losses they may allege were driven by irresponsible news releases.”

Research Poll Results

If you feel that the financial press has, in some way, exacerbated the current economic climate, you’re not alone. The survey of 1000 adults (a statistical representation of the total U.S. population) in the United States by Opinion Research speaks for itself. The question asked was, “Do you think the financial press is making the economic crisis worse by projecting fear into people’s minds?”

Here are the results:

Overall Response

77% answered YES

Household Incomes:

$25k - $35k - 79% answered YES
$35k - $50k - 88% answered YES
$50k - $75k - 76% answered YES
$75k - more - 78% answered YES

Demographics:

85% of young adults (18-24 yrs old) answered YES
77% of males and females alike answered YES
65% of blacks answered YES

The Bottom Line

While those of us here at Auto Credit Express don’t embrace the notion of looking at the world through rose colored glasses, we also feel that lurid headlines and sensationalist reporting only compound the economic fears that many Americans are feeling at this time.

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