Business puzzles (me)

I was reading some comments from US journalists on whether the media have depeened the recession and made the crisis worse in the countries not yet in recession. Some argued they have, and that the crisis – driven headlines have triggered pessimism. To a certain extent, it must be true. People are reading the daily headlines and have nothing to be optimistic about. But on the other hand, journalist are reflecting what happened on the market. Had it been all shiny, I am sure headlines would reflect that and people would laugh while having coffee with their morning newspapers. I have yet to hear about a run on a bank triggered by a media story – at least not in Romania. On the other hand, I tend to believe that some journalists are overdoing it. Or maybe it is more fair to say media outlets are overdoing it, becuase these days, everything they report about has to be somehow related to the crisis.    Every headline has the word crisis in it, and usually it reports about something bad. I am sure positive things happen, let’s write about those as well, let’s provide equilibrium.  It’s like the 5 o’clock net from ProTV in business format. I am not talking about the absurd idea some members of the parliament had some time ago that the press should report equally good and bad news, but if these good things happen amidst downturn, let’s write about them. It is still reporting, it is still telling the truth, and the journalist can actually stand out with a fresher angle.  Otherwise, I agree we need to obey ethics because our work has impact on markets, information needs to be correct and balanced. I What do you think, to what extent does media influence what happens in business at times like this?