The Economics of Journalism of Economics
In a post that uncharacteristically portrays a (former) member of the Bush administration in a positive light, Brad DeLong continues his criticism of the mainstream media:
I will suggest that he was in fact taught wrongly. But first I note that he later makes some important exceptions:
I know very little about the National Journal, so I won’t comment on that, but the other four media outlets mentioned here have something obvious in common: they are all business and financial media. That orientation stands in contrast to those mentioned disparagingly in the earlier citation.
I am regular reader of the Wall Street Journal myself. (To be honest, I usually only make it through column 2 of the front page, and perhaps column 3, depending on how much fiber I ate the previous day.) The Journal’s coverage is far from perfect, but since it is the only paper that I read (even one column of) regularly, revealed preference would suggest that I tend to agree with Brad.
But even if I had never read the New York Times, it wouldn’t surprise me that the Journal has more reliable coverage. Business media are designed to provide news as useful information; general media are designed to provide news as a form of entertainment. Times readers want to find out what’s happening in the world because they enjoy finding out what’s happening in the world. In principle it doesn’t make much difference whether what they find out is what’s actually happening or some contrived alternate reality. In practice the distinction matters only to the extent that readers are likely to check the information against other sources.
Journal readers want to find out what’s happening in the world because they are going to make practical decisions based on that information – not just ineffectual decisions (from the individual perspective) like who to vote for, but decisions – like what investments to choose, how many widgets to produce, or whether to accept a merger offer – that will have noticeable effects on their lives. If the Journal gets a story wrong, it makes a practical difference to readers. Unlike the case of the Times, whether a story is substantively accurate makes more difference than whether the story is enjoyable to read. Naturally it is in the Journal’s interest to allocate more of its resources toward getting the stories right.
The world is a complex and intricate place. How is anyone to understand it--even a particular piece of it, for example the United States government in Washington DC and its economic policies? It is a big problem, for the standard sources that I was taught (perhaps wrongly) as a child to rely on--the Washington Post, the New York Times, Walter Cronkhite on the evening news--are breaking down.
I will suggest that he was in fact taught wrongly. But first I note that he later makes some important exceptions:
If you want to understand Washington DC, the American government, and American economic policy, then: trust the news pages of the Wall Street Journal, trust the Financial Times, trust the political and lobbying coverage of the National Journal. Trust Bloomberg and Knight-Ridder to try as best they can to get the story straight under immense time pressure.
I know very little about the National Journal, so I won’t comment on that, but the other four media outlets mentioned here have something obvious in common: they are all business and financial media. That orientation stands in contrast to those mentioned disparagingly in the earlier citation.
I am regular reader of the Wall Street Journal myself. (To be honest, I usually only make it through column 2 of the front page, and perhaps column 3, depending on how much fiber I ate the previous day.) The Journal’s coverage is far from perfect, but since it is the only paper that I read (even one column of) regularly, revealed preference would suggest that I tend to agree with Brad.
But even if I had never read the New York Times, it wouldn’t surprise me that the Journal has more reliable coverage. Business media are designed to provide news as useful information; general media are designed to provide news as a form of entertainment. Times readers want to find out what’s happening in the world because they enjoy finding out what’s happening in the world. In principle it doesn’t make much difference whether what they find out is what’s actually happening or some contrived alternate reality. In practice the distinction matters only to the extent that readers are likely to check the information against other sources.
Journal readers want to find out what’s happening in the world because they are going to make practical decisions based on that information – not just ineffectual decisions (from the individual perspective) like who to vote for, but decisions – like what investments to choose, how many widgets to produce, or whether to accept a merger offer – that will have noticeable effects on their lives. If the Journal gets a story wrong, it makes a practical difference to readers. Unlike the case of the Times, whether a story is substantively accurate makes more difference than whether the story is enjoyable to read. Naturally it is in the Journal’s interest to allocate more of its resources toward getting the stories right.
Labels: economics, journalism, microeconomics
18 Comments:
knzn - good post. I also read De Long's post but my memory "deleted" his post in my mind, probably because I thought he was bias to Mankiw. I have the same reaction when I read something about Krugman in Mankiw's post.
I have been puzzling about Mankiw: why did he choose 2004, the sensitive time to publish his "outsourcing" paper? Hasn't he thought of the political consequence? If he wants to tell the truth which he believes, he could wait till 2005. That paper may cost him being the chair of the Fed, if that's what he wants.
I just wonder what you think...
Just an error in real-time judgment, I think, given his limited political experience. One thing I’ve discovered from introspection is that it’s easy to make errors in judgment in real time even if you’re smart enough to know better. (Think of what Ben Bernanke said to Maria Bartiromo. He was just lucky he already had the job.)
"The world is a complex and intricate place."
You need a Harvard Phd to tell us this, knzn.
Anyway. Dont ya just love the pyschological mind games Delong plays on ManQ. Just imagine how poor ManQ feels when he logs on there in the morning; like, uh, whatll it be today.
I think the interesting story here is how media distorts stories for readership. Like the way they never, ever refer to a capital account surplus. Instead, its all a current account deficits. Sensationalism is the name of the game.
Also, I was at talk by Stiglitz once and he remarked how there basically was a deal between the White House and the media. The White House "leaked" stories to the media, who dutifully spinned them to the White Houses desires; else, they wouldnt get any more "leaks". Rough justice, but it all sounded right to me. (Of course Stiglitz said *he* never engaged in this kinda thing. Not at all).
Also, journalists have to sell newspaper, hence the sensationalism. So, inaccurate stories is just a rational response to economic incentives.
Youd think DeLong would understand that, wouldnt ya?
knzn - Your introspection is so true in real life…
I have been wondering if the Maria Bartiromo incident was really offhand. I believe Bernanke wants to control inflationary pressure with minimum sacrifice of growth and employment. Standing at the time when he tipped Maria, the Street had been treated him as a dove with the elevated Dow. By tipping Maria that he was no dove, he created a negative wealth effect without raising the interest rate that may trim down jobs. That’s why at the time I heard Maria said that Bernanke told her in the dinner about the Street’s misinterpretation on him, I thought – wow, shooting two birds with one stone, what a good game player!
I am not confident that the incident was intentional because I do not know Bernanke. If he is a bureaucratic type that always follows rules, it would be more likely that the incident is careless. Also the game is very dangerous.
希望大家都會非常非常幸福~
「朵朵小語‧優美的眷戀在這個世界上,最重要的一件事,就是好好愛自己。好好愛自己,你的眼睛才能看見天空的美麗,耳朵才能聽見山水的清音。好好愛自己,你才能體會所有美好的東西,所有的文字與音符才能像清泉一樣注入你的心靈。好好愛自己,你才有愛人的能力,也才有讓別人愛上你的魅力。而愛自己的第一步,就是切斷讓自己覺得黏膩的過去,以無沾無滯的輕快心情,大步走向前去。愛自己的第二步,則是隨時保持孩子般的好奇,願意接受未知的指引;也隨時可以拋卻不再需要的行囊,一路雲淡風輕。親愛的,你是天地之間獨一無二的旅人,在陽光與月光的交替之中瀟灑獨行.............................................................................................................
有時,你覺得痛。胃痛的時候,接受它,承認這個疼痛是你的身體的一部份,與它和平共處。心痛的時候,接受它,承認這個經驗是你的生命的一部份,與它和平共處。抗拒痛的存在,只會讓它更要證明它的存在,於是你就更痛。所以,.無論你有多麼不喜歡痛的感覺,還是要接納這個痛的事實。與你的痛站在同一邊,不逃避,不閃躲,不再與你的痛爭執,如此,你的痛才會漸漸不再胡鬧,才會乖乖平息下去。.................
牙醫,植牙,假牙|矯正|牙周病,牙醫診所、植牙,紋身,刺青,創業,批發,TATTOO,皮膚科,痘痘,雷射、脈衝光、除斑,洗包包|洗鞋子|清洗包包,中醫,腫瘤,腎臟病,僵直性脊椎炎,飛梭雷射,肉毒桿菌,玻尿酸,痘痘,脈衝光,醫美,毛孔粗大,醫學美容,seo,關鍵字行銷,關鍵字、自然排序,網路行銷,關鍵字、自然排序,關鍵字行銷、seo,關鍵字廣告,網路行銷,seo,關鍵字行銷,關鍵字廣告,關鍵字,自然排序,部落格行銷,網路行銷,網路爆紅,牛舌餅,婚紗,台中婚紗。
酒店喝酒,禮服店,酒店小姐,酒店領檯,便服店,鋼琴酒吧,酒店兼職,酒店兼差,酒店打工,伴唱小姐,暑假打工,酒店上班,酒店兼職,ktv酒店,酒店,酒店公關,酒店兼差,酒店上班,酒店打工,禮服酒店,禮服店,酒店小姐,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店經紀,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店小姐,台北酒店,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店小姐,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店小姐,禮服店 ,酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店小姐,酒店傳播,酒店經紀人,酒店,酒店,酒店,酒店 ,禮服店 , 酒店小姐,酒店經紀,酒店兼差,暑假打工,招待所,酒店小姐,酒店兼差,寒假打工,酒店上班,暑假打工,酒店公關,酒店兼職,禮服店 , 酒店小姐 ,酒店經紀 ,酒店兼差,暑假打工,酒店,酒店,酒店經紀,酒店領檯 ,禮服店 ,酒店小姐 ,酒店經紀 ,酒店兼差,暑假打工, 酒店上班,禮服店 ,酒店小姐 ,酒店經紀 ,酒店兼差,暑假打工, 酒店上班,禮服店 ,酒店小姐 ,酒店經紀 ,酒店兼差,暑假打工, 酒店上班,酒店經紀,酒店經紀,酒店經紀
Some new style Puma Speed is in fashion this year. chaussure puma is Puma Shoes in french. Many france like seach “chaussure sport” by the internet when they need buy the Puma shoes or buy the nike max shoes.The information age is really convenient. By the way ,the puma CAT is really good chaussures puma ,don’t forget buy the puma mens shoes and nike air max ltd by the internet when you need them . Do you know Nike Air Shoes is a best Air Shoes .
Spring is coming, and how to choose the polo shirts is the main concern of many people. ralph lauren polo shirts is a classic type and reliable. ed hardy clothing is more in line with the aesthetic ideas of young people, so many young people filled with a variety of ed hardy clothes in their wardrobes. New style ed hardy womens shirt match the new style ed hardy sunglasses , it is a good idea.
Do you think this season is not for ugg boots ? maybe yes .but this season is best time that can buy the cheap ugg boots. Many sellers are selling discounted. Do not miss . Please view my blog and fc2 blog .thank you .
Faint hint of the love of friendship
Faint hint of the love of friendship. There is a friend, I think that is a cheap wow gold kind of love and friendship between the feelings between, you will occasionally miss a time to silence him, reminds him, the warm heart, a beautiful, a moving. Sad and worried at the time, you will think of him, you hope that he can in your side, give you comfort and buy wow power leveling understanding to you, and you never talk to him, are you afraid of their own grief that would preclude him from peaceful life.
You will be a song, a color, think of him, think of my wow gold his sincerity, he reminds me of the dedication, his mind had gone through the ups and downs together. With such a friend, you will treasure their lives and love their own lives, because you know I hope you had a good, he would like you to take care of themselves properly, and then to meet, he cheapest wow power leveling would like you to tell him you very happy.
That the concept of secularism, in your mind, because his replica replica rolex presence has become pale and weak, you are only in the depths of the bottom of my heart for this man set up a small space, stick with that quietly happy memories, from the the very beginning you know that you will not have any love, it seems that talk about love on the desecration CHEAP wow power level of this emotion, this can only be a friendship. This is how in the end all about? You want to for many years, but no clue.
You seldom have contacts in this long life, you meet the door may be only a few of the ten thousandth time, but in each other's hearts retain a miss, one asked, even if he went to the ends of the earth, even after many, many years, even BUY power leveling when the meet again, has long been a non-object is not, you still remember back as a profound, and this has been sufficient.
Sometimes life will calm a dry, maybe you will fall into the dry I replica rolex replica did this, perhaps what you do not have love, perhaps early HUAFA, full sideburns pale, but with such a friend, in the your life will ripple slightly, a little color, do you think of him. He remembered the quiet, perhaps the Health and cheap lotro gold the WHO will not forget.
Am grateful for you in this world, there is such a person, he is replica rolex not around you, he did not do anything for you, but you hope that he would have been very good, long life, happiness well-being ... ...
Am glad you had a feeling like that, pure and long, in this complex CHEAPEST power leveling world, there are such a friend, it is worth to cheap rs gold lbless you to miss ... ...
翻譯|醫學美容|汽車報廢|童裝批發|家教|室內裝潢|徵信|清境民宿|催情性藥品
Oes Tsetnoc one of the ways in which we can learn seo besides Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa. By participating in the Oes Tsetnoc or Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa we can improve our seo skills. To find more information about Oest Tsetnoc please visit my Oes Tsetnoc pages. And to find more information about Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa please visit my Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa pages. Thank you So much.
Oes Tsetnoc | Semangat Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa
i dont know if there suitalbe to write something good website i meet here, for i hope every body could have a good shopping experience online.
here i want to introduce this website, mainly selling nfl jerseys,
ghd, christian louboutin, and air max 95.
they offer 24 hours online service, and very very good customer service.
i buy the air max 90 shoes online on the website, nice design and good quality. that is why i strongly introduce you here.
it is not a advertisment, just share my shopping experience with everybody. hope you have a nice day, and could enjoy the good shopping.
網頁設計,FreeForm,徵信,翻譯,外遇、電扇、電風扇、涼風扇,酒瓶雕刻、禮贈品、禮品、贈品
Christian Louboutin Boots
|Jimmy Choo Patent leather sandals
|Jimmy Choo Patent leather sandals
Christian Louboutin Archidisco 120 T-bar sandals
Christian Louboutin Barcelona Gladiator Platforms
Microsoft Office
Office 2010
Microsoft Office 2010
Office 2010 key
Office 2010 download
Office 2010 Professional
Microsoft outlook
Outlook 2010
Windows 7
Microsoft outlook 2010
golden goose sneakers
curry shoes
stone island
golden goose sneakers
pandora
pg 4
supreme new york
golden goose
golden goose
yeezy boost 350 v2
golden goose sneakers
curry shoes
stone island
golden goose sneakers
pandora
pg 4
supreme new york
golden goose
golden goose
yeezy boost 350 v2
kobe byrant shoes
kyrie irving shoes
supreme shirt
ggdb
golden goose
supreme hoodie
a bathing ape
bape
golden goose sneakers
jordan shoes
Post a Comment
<< Home