Do The Media Want You To Fail?

You’ve heard it said that no news is good news.

But there’s a corollary, equally true, with profound implications for your career.

It’s this: Most news is bad news, especially when it comes to employment and the economy.

You can prove this for yourself right now. Take a look at CNN.com or FoxNews.com and you’ll likely see a mix of about 90% bad news (death, crime, recession, war, scandal, etc.) and 10% good news (deaf boy regains hearing, a water-skiing squirrel, etc.).

What does this mean for you and your job search?

There’s roughly a 90% chance that any news you read, hear or see today is going to be bad news. And, like radiation, long-term exposure will lead to health problems. In this case, your mental health will suffer from a steady diet of bad news.

Now. Should you stick your head in the sand and become ignorant about current events? No.

But, like a guy in a Hazmat suit carrying uranium rods around in a nuclear reactor, you should take precautions when handling the news, to avoid unhealthy over-exposure.

I submit that you can shield yourself from the ill effects of bad news simply by asking the right questions.

Specifically, try asking yourself the following 5 questions when reading, hearing or watching the news. (These are adapted from the brilliant book, “How to Read a Book,” by Mortimer Adler.)

1) Who is this journalist and this news source?
2) What kind of slant do they have?
3) What does this journalist want to prove?
4) Do they really know what they’re talking about?
5) What should I do as a result of this news?

Let’s analyze a typically dreary news story about jobs and the economy, from right in my own backyard, here.

Story summary:

Between rising unemployment, falling interest rates, precipitous market swings and proposals for stimulus, the economy has been prominent in the headlines for the past couple of weeks, and Minnesotans of all walks of life are feeling the affects (sic) in different ways.

1) The journalist is William Wilcoxen and the source is Minnesota Public Radio.

2) Slant? I don’t know William from Adam, but that’s OK, because I do know Minnesota Public Radio. Overall, their news slants to the left, just as Fox News slants to the right.

Big Rude Fact: There is no such thing as 100% objectivity in news coverage, because there is no such thing as 100% objectivity in humans, who report the news. Our worldview colors everything we see, say and write, and this applies to journalists. All news slants either left or right — liberal or conservative. Is that a good fact or a bad fact? You decide. But a fact it is.

3) This journalist wants to prove that we are now (January 2008) in the middle of economic turbulence, bordering on a recession, and that the job market is weakening.

4) Does this journalist know what he’s talking about? To answer this, we must first answer two questions about the story: Are we really in an economic downturn, and is the job market really worsening in Minnesota?

From what I’ve read and heard (I don’t watch TV news, which is useless), I believe 1) it’s too early to tell if we’re in a recession and 2), after Googling “minnesota unemployment” it looks like the job market has weakened, because the unemployment rate increased from 4.4% in November 2007 to 4.9% in December.

5) Here’s the $64,000 Question: What should I do as a result of this news?

I would argue that bad employment news should mean NOTHING to you, and it should have NO effect on your job search.

Because, after reading your Free copy of The Simple Job Search Manifesto, you won’t play by the same rules as everyone else in the job market. You will be able to:

• define your target job,

• create a shortlist of ideal employers,

• contact them,

• get interviews, and

• get job offers — even if those employers had no plans to hire anyone.

That’s how powerful the Manifesto is.

So, ultimately, you should be able to laugh at bad economic news. Because, while everyone else is wringing their hands, you’ll be creating your own job market.

Bad news? Good news? Who cares? The only thing you should care about is your attitude — that’s the only thing you have 100% control over.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under job search tips. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.