Telling Hard Stories That Matter

Several friends have mentioned to me that they would like to see more frequent entries in Irv’s Eye View, not necessarily the magazine length pieces I’ve been doing every couple of months. So here it goes…

A couple of recent NY Times stories on the economy merit attention. Take a look at Sunday’s big page one piece on a woman who is suffering from the predatory practices of lenders, while admitting that she needs to take responsibility, too. The other piece is in today’s paper, on the real impact of the government’s policy in dealing with the mortgage mess. What we see in these stories is how saving the financial system trumps helping ordinary Americans. There is a clear and urgent need to prevent a collapse of the banking system and this is not to suggest otherwise or diminish the importance of these efforts. But the sad truth is that the longer term health of the economy depends on qualified buyers, and current owners, being able to pay their bills. The disturbing part of what is happening now is the lack of focus on maintaining low payments for the best credit risks, whether it is in mortgages or other loans, including credit card debt. So why is this money stuff of interest to a blogger on communication, culture and the media?

The media’s ability to miss big stories, particularly if they involve complex financial matters, requires reporters to muster the best story telling skills they have in order to properly tell those stories. This is an election year which means the stakes are high, so finding stories like Sunday’s NYT profile should have a real bearing on how we vote. As the clichéd closer might go: What happens on Wall St has impact on Main St. The media, both mainstream and new, ought to lead the way in telling these important stories and making the connections in ways that matter. The more personal, backpack style journalism is uniquely well-equipped to capture the real world meaning of the musings and missteps of politicians and economists.

So don’t miss this part of the economic story and get caught up only in the price of gas and food. Tell readers, viewers, and users that those credit card come-ons that arrive almost daily in the mail should include a skull and crossbones warning--ditto, for the low rate mortgage lies. Get out there and tell these stories. It’s already been in the NY Times so we will start to see the networks and local news folks falling in line. But this economy has been with us for more than a few months, now.

Yes, there have been many stories about people losing their homes, foreclosures and fire sales. But the story is bigger than that. With the exception of the super rich, this crummy economy hits everyone. The people who pay their bills on time, every month, are feeling the squeeze and it hurts, even if they can hang on. And Washington’s remedies fall short of helping, at least so far. The irony is that if the best credit risks were rewarded, by being allowed to pay at their current best rates, that would help the failing banks. Instead, higher rates are driving away the most reliable customers and discouraging new business. That’s no way to fix a failing economy.