Where Big Media Falters, Bloggers Rush In

Business Journal of the Triad, 8/20/04

I have what I would describe as a layman's obsession with economics. Among my circle of friends and acquaintances this is in the same league as having an obsession with - say, train spotting or Soviet-era Russian cinema. Nothing wrong with any of these things, mind you, but they don't always leave a lot of common ground for conversation. So I have to spend time looking for information to feed my obsession.

One of the benefits of being a layman is that there is no requirement that I focus on becoming expert in a particular niche of economics. So I tend to follow my interests; given the political climate, that mostly means tax policy. Tax cut mania is the order of the day, and since our economic fortunes seem to be riding on those revenue numbers, I would have assumed that the mainstream media would be all over this, probing the implications and prognosticating the future of a government that is continually expected to do more with less.

Maybe the mainstream media have a collective nostalgia for the days before the word "voodoo" was linked to the phrase "trickle down;" perhaps market research shows that people just aren't that enamored of facts or analysis; or, maybe they're concerned that any critical analysis might appear to be partisan. Whatever the reason, media coverage of economic policy - that animal we want to complain about but not bother to understand - is, in a word, lacking. Instead, we're treated to an endless stream of pronouncements of economic reality, unsullied by research, fact checking, or any further vetting. We are left to assume that what a politician - or politically motivated consultant, lobbyist, or economist - says is far more important than any subtext.

The good news is that bloggers, or authors of Web logs, are rushing to fill the information vacuum. Don't believe the mainstream media's tendency to portray bloggers as simply diarists or gossipmongers. The reality is that there are many informed voices, across the political and ideological spectrum, who have gladly picked up the ball that "real" journalists have dropped. In the case of economics, there are countless economists, college professors, and moonlighting journalists who offer substantial commentary and insight.

Meanwhile, many established journalists look at bloggers in the same amused way that an anthropologist might observe "less civilized" societies, totally unaware that they are being sized up as a meal. Big media, as some bloggers call it, attempts to seize the ethical high ground, by pointing out the lack of editorial or partisan constraints that bloggers operate under. At a time when media consumers of all political stripes seem to find partisan bias in all media, this may not turn out to be a particularly compelling argument.

Here is the bottom line: There are many people like me who want a depth of economic information and analysis, and if established media outlets fail to offer meaningful, substantive information, bloggers are ready to rush in and fill the void. The barriers to entry are low, and the best writers in the blogosphere - that nebulous region where opinions fly free - have proven capable of building significant audiences. But, just in case mainstream media is paying attention and has any interest in getting back in the game, I'll throw them a couple of simple questions to chew on:

What, precisely, is the current administration's economic policy? Tax cuts are to policy as "more sales" is to a business plan - incomplete, at best. And while you're at it, can you tell us if there is even a credible administration spokesperson for economic issues? The most likely suspect, John Snow, seems to be auditioning for Tom Ridge's job, since the only ink he appears to get in mainstream media has to do with his pronouncements on homeland security. Or is it Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, whose opinions the administration in turn embraces and repudiates?

Next: If 1.5 million jobs are created and median income declines by 3.3%, is this a sign of economic progress? And for whom? No cheating - discussing average income doesn't count since we all know that if Bill Gates walks into a roomful of teachers, the average income in the room rises into the millions of dollars.

Big Media needs to offer this insight. I know it's already out there in the blogs.