Let the Good Times Roll
by Courtney Godfrey and Rebecca McClay
Let’s get this party started. At least that’s what Ben Bernanke wants to do and the business media seem right there with him. When the Fed chief predicted an end to the recession Sept. 14, business news outlets were quick to pick up the story and three key words – “very likely over.” No wonder. Readers and writers are both a little exhausted from the stream of bad economic news the past few years. Even the hint of better times is a welcome relief.
On line, cnn.com posted a story with Bernanke’s remarks at 11:46 a.m., including in its headline that the federal reserve chairman had simultaneously warned of a “slog ahead.”
Many large daily newspapers like the Washington Post and USA Today featured the story on the positive message through Web updates that Tuesday afternoon. Others, like the Seattle Times, had little hint of Bernanke’s new upbeat attitude. Instead, the Seattle Times Web site featured a story on the state’s climbing jobless rate as its main page top story and a report on CEO pay sinking for the first time at the top of its online business section.
On television, MSNBC focused on how the US’s recovery compared with other countries, saying that many of the blogs noted that the rest of the world was recovering faster. Bloomberg business news ran a headline with the “very likely over” phrase gracing its ticker.
