What's Missing From Economic News?

People need access to economic advice that they can understand and information about issues that affect their daily lives. Too often, economic reporting over-emphasizes a moment of doom and gloom, instead of more hopeful long-term trends.

Business journalism tends to cater to big companies and the markets. There's not that much [focus on things like pocketbook issues, income inequality, labor] and it's certainly not brought down to your local level, which is where it could do most people the most good.

Bob Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union

Terms to know

What are you hoping to learn via the economic news you consume? Are you a dedicated trader who avidly follows and understands the stock market? Or, are you trying to get a broad picture of what the labor or housing market is going to look like in the year ahead?

Being clear on why you are consuming economic news can help you choose where you get that news from.

Certain news outlets are created with certain audiences in mind.

For example, financial publications like The Street are designed for traders. More general news outlets like the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal have financial stories that are broken down in a way that is more useful for the average person.

There is a lot of reporting on the stock market and a lot of it is, at best, incomplete or, at worst, manipulative. Because many people find economic news difficult to understand, reporters often try to "simplify" it by using tactics like personification (e.g., "Mr. Market is angry").

Try not to buy into the emotional rhetoric. Instead, try to remember that the market is a dispassionate pricing machine.

Understand that a reporter who is covering a financial topic is not necessarily a financial reporter.

Due to staffing shortages (check out Episode 102), it's not uncommon for a reporter with no background or specialized knowledge in economics to be assigned a finance story. Because these journalists lack the foundational knowledge needed to analyze and explain these topics, they will often rely on big numbers and talking points, which tend to be less relevant to the average person than a thoughtful analysis would be.

What can we do?

Use reliable and relevant sources

Subscribe to one of Bob Frick's recommended sources. These sources provide information written in basic terms about economic issues that affect your life.
Instead of TikTok, Frick suggests getting sound personal finance advice from reliable sites like Bankrate and HousingWire.

Skip the stress

Don't stress about the stock market if you're an average person.
Skip financial reporting that involves personification or emotional rhetoric, like "Mr. Market is Angry!"

Ignore heavily biased sources

Ignore economic information that is tightly tied to partisan politics, like you might find in political ads.
Avoid economic reporting that includes marketing or sales pitches.

Listen & Subscribe

Listen to Episode 103: What's Missing From Economic News? and subscribe to our News Over Noise podcast to continue learning how to balance staying informed while protecting your well-being and the public good.

Listen to Episode 103