| What is the impact of the press on the financial crisis and vice versa? | ||
| Among business leaders, there is a clear impression that the press has had a considerable impact on the financial crisis. I am not to speculate whether the effect has made a 10, 30 or 50% negative impact on the developments. But it is beyond doubt that the negative impact has been significant. Today, it is a widely accepted fact that in 2008 many editors chose a perspective, which placed the crisis centrally, and thereby prioritised a negative tone consciously. The crisis is there, but… However, I shall not attempt to avoid the fact that the world has seen a series of, in particular, financial issues of a very alarming nature. These have had a strong negative impact on all other business sectors and as a result, the global community at large. It was hardly a deliberate decision on the editor’s board that they wanted to strengthen the negative developments, but taking into account that this crisis to a very large extent is psychological in nature, the press has taken on responsibility for the fact that the current crisis has developed far worse than was necessary – deliberate decisions or not. Boomerang Now, the crisis also hits the media. Income from advertising is plummeting, employees are laid off, some of whom are journalists. A couple of days ago, I read a series of statements from a journalist who clearly said that it was not funny to write about all the negative stories. The journalist would much rather write the positive stories. In the coming months, it is likely that the occasional journalist or editor will sit back and think whether the “duty/right to portray a truthful message” was not taken a step too far during the financial crisis. We all have to learn. Crises are healthy, in the sense that they make us not take everything for granted. My call to the press is not to bend the truth in a positive direction, but to employ a more ‘balanced’ argument and a little less ‘sticking to the editorial line’. It would perhaps also contribute to slightly more healthy media houses and a better working climate for its many journalists. If the press by “talking up the crisis” contribute to the extinction of the printed press, then it is not only unfortunate for the media houses, but it is also a development, my generation at least, would prefer to live without. Younger generations may view it differently – news on the Internet is the future anyway. First published in Børsen, April 15, 2009. Written by Niels Schreiner Andersen, CEO and Senior Partner, SAM Headhunting Group A/S | ||
| Date | 29-04-2009 | |||