Why the Media Hates Good News

If you love conspiracy theories, you will love this post, but I think I have finally figured out why the media hates good news and loves bad. This subject has been of great interest to me and the following are just a few of the titles I have had on the subject:

* More Bad News for Those Who Love Bad News

* The Half Empty World of the News

* As the Economy Enjoys Good News, Critics Receive Bad

I have written several more and they all have a similar theme, the media lives off of bad news. Furthermore, I believe that the media makes a living off of bad news. There are some logical reasons for the media to like bad news.

People are not nearly as interested in good news as they are in bad. As Don Henley said in one of my classic rock favorites -- give us the dirty laundry! News, by design, is meant to warn, protect, and prepare. Most of the stories that fall in these categories, tend to be negative in nature. If the weather was perfect, who would need to know the forecast? If all neighborhoods were safe, there would be no stories about the parts of town to stay away from. And if all things were perfect, we would likely find the news really boring. This has been a huge force in driving the global warming hysteria.

More sinister than this, and this is where my conspiracy theory comes out, when the economy is performing well, many businesses don't invest nearly as much on advertising. When people can easily find clients, they are less likely to invest money in marketing. When the economy gets weaker they are often forced to make such expenditures or face terrible consequences. Bad news can foster a negative view of the economy, which can lead to an actual economic decline.

I know, it is a little far fetched, but when I talk to my associates in media many are actually glad about the possibility of a rumored economic decline and think things might be improving for their business. Call it what you will, but I call it the economics of bad news.

Bad News Means Big Business for CNBC

This from MediaBistro:

"More from the August ratings reports. During Wall Street's rocky month, CNBC's 5am-7 pm ET programming ave. raged 87,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo. According to the net, its their 'best August since 2002 and up +50% versus August 2006.'

"Other highlights are in the press release after the jump... (note too, the caveat at the end of the release about Nielsen's audience universe being limited to 'in-home' measurement.)

'CNBC HAS BEST AUGUST IN FIVE YEARS.' August Ratings More Than Tripled Since 2005, ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., August 28, 2007---During one of the most volatile months the markets have seen in years, viewers turned to CNBC, First in Business Worldwide for fast, accurate, actionable and unbiased business news. CNBC's Business Day (M-F 5a-7p ET) had its best August in five years, and August ratings have more than tripled since August 2005. For August 2007, CNBC's Business Day (M-F 5a-7p) averaged 87,000 A25-54, hitting its best August since 2002 and up +50% versus August 2006. All 6a-7p CNBC programs had their highest August time period delivery since at least 2003."

Okay, I got carried away, but I found these numbers astonishing -- bad news resulted in big numbers for CNBC. Such numbers may have turned into multipliers for the often struggling network.

This validates a point that I make quite often in this blog. Consider these headlines:

"Why the Media Hates Bad News"

"The Half Empty World of the Media"

"When It Comes To Real Estate: Bad News or Ridiculous Expectations?"

"As the Economy Enjoys Good News, Critics Receive Bad"

Etc., etc., etc.

The rise in CNBC's numbers is directly linked to the insanity in the Stock Market. This is exactly why the media continues to do negative spins on the news. Anything to attract attention. The worse it is, the more viewers it attracts, and it is usually done in an irresponsible fashion, in my opinion.

It isn't just the media at fault, however, we reinforce their bad behavior by giving them ratings like those above. We have to say more than we are merely "tired" of bad news and start punishing them for being such passionate promoters of such by consuming media that offers more balanced and even positive perspectives.

P.S.: Do you know why August 2002 beat this rating period? It was because it was during the technology bubble burst of that year.

Rush Limbaugh and "I Hope Obama Fails"

Obama is under scrutiny like many on the Right never imagined and it is beginning to show in the President's declining poll numbers. Some in the mainstream media are beginning to have buyers remorse, even as the news continues to operate as a propaganda machine to defend itself as ones who moved from the role of "witnesses of history" to makers of it. If Obama fails, the media fails with him they fear. They served as a sophisticated PR tool to get the Illinois Senator in the White House.

Conservatives are up in arms in a way that I have never seen. Even at the height of the Clinton impeachment trials Conservatives were not as vocal. Barack Obama has created an alarm among every day Americans for many good reasons. Obama hates free enterprise, limited government, and those other elements that have made us free. Furthermore, he is developing a shadow government within his White House designed to keep him free from Congressional accountability.

So serious is this Administration's radical actions, even one of his strongest allies, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has warned about the establishment of "White House Czars." His policies are radical -- socializing health care, eliminating what little local control is left in education, and the government's far reaching control of energy. These policies may pale in comparison to what Obama plans on doing with the political process. From his hostility towards criticism seen in the removal of reporters from his plane that represented newspapers which endorsed his opponent to his lust for political power by moving the Census (which is used to determine Congressional Districts among other things) to the White House all point to a man who is more interested in the "Cubaization" of the United States and not the mere "Europization" that so many talk about it.

Enter Rush Limbaugh, the long time voice of grassroot conservatives regardless of who was in power. In light of the dangerous times being brought on by the Obama Administration, Limbaugh and other Conservatives feel forced to take off the gloves. Recently, a major publication asked Rush Limbaugh (as well as many other political and media leaders) the media giant's hopes with the dawn of a new Administration. Following a summary of the radical and socialist policies being pursued by the new president, Limbaugh simply said four words, "I hope Obama fails." This is a statement that will not go away and Limbaugh is also not shying away from it either.

A recent Newsweek Magazine has a picture of Limbaugh with (what appears to be) tape over his mouth and the title "Why Rush is Wrong" and it is the reflections of a Conservative journalist who is trying to take the radio host to task. It is interesting that the only Conservative they could find to take Rush on is David Frum, a man described as a "Canadian conservative" who is most identified with the neoconservative wing and has served as a speechwriter to President Bush. His strongest links to the Conservative movement are with the National Review, he is an ardent critic of Sarah Palin, and a huge fan of Michael Steele. In other words, he represents that wing of the "Conservative movement" that most people on the right have largely disregarded. Newsweek, in its desperate efforts to try to create division in the Conservative movement when it comes to Obama, had to go outside of the country and really, outside of the movement, to find a critic. It shows you how pathetic the mainstream media has become.

Could Limbaugh have handled his criticism of Obama better? I think so and with greater effectiveness as well. As an Obama critic who has studied history and economics for years, I know Obama well fail. That is fact, not speculation. It has nothing to do with "hope," but mere reality. Socialism has failed, government isn't the answer, freedom is all that works. Limbaugh should have spoke of Obama's failure as fact, not hope. So if I had been asked to make a statement of what I would "hope" with the inauguration of this new Administration, I would have to say four words like Limbaugh too: I hope America survives.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.