Housing

The economy is about to dive off a cliff and it's all President George W. Bush's fault, according to The New York Times editorial board. A January 2 Times editorial was pretty pessimistic about the economy in 2008, mocking Bush and forecasting doom. "As 2008 begins, house prices are still skidding, bank losses are still mounting, oil is again flirting with $100 a barrel and consumers are…

When Larry Summers suggested in early 2005 that, as paraphrased by Slate's William Saletan, "innate differences between the sexes might help explain why relatively few women become professional scientists or engineers," the outcry was immediate, furious, and went to saturation level virtually overnight. The controversy ultimately led to his resignation a year later as Harvard President. On…

That's right folks, it's that time of year. There was plenty of economic bias in 2007 and the Business & Media Institute had a hard time whittling it down to just a top 10 list, but we did it.10. Airlines are solely to blame for the unfriendly skies.Media myth: Blame the airlines for all those flight delays; never mind the obsolete government-run agency creating the gridlock.9. Consumer…

Steve Fraser might look mild-mannered, but when it comes to economic doomsaying, he is the Rocky Marciano of recession, the Tiger Woods of turndown, the David Beckham of depression.Speaking of bending one, Fraser's LA Times column of today, "Symptoms of an Economic Depression," twists U.S. economic data into a harbinger of impending doom. Fraser begins by falsely claiming that "no one wants to…

In "Wall St. Sees Silver Lining," new New York Times economics reporter Peter Goodman (formerly of the Washington Post) made Saturday's front page with a "news analysis" that impressively managed to put last week's big stock market rally in the context of an "ailing economy" that was "imperiled by the crumbling housing market."

As the 2008 election approaches, the New York Times uses the image of a sinking red "RECE$$ION" to communicate a fear that is so far only a phantom menace. Peter Goodman's Sunday Week in Review cover story, "Trying to Guess What Happens Next," displayed plenty of pessimism about the U.S. economy after years of foreign-financed easy money. But the accompanying graphic communicated even more…

*****Update at end of post includes detailed response to unhappy e-mail messages concerning this subject.As someone that has done a lot of economic writing and financial media analysis, I'm used to gloom and doom from journalists. However, Saturday's Associated Press article concerning the credit crunch and how it's impacting the mortgage market could be the worst example of economic and…

Here's what a CNN e-mail I received said when the news was first released: Here's how the headline at the home page turned out mid-morning: