It’s been so long since we’ve had an economic downturn that people have forgotten recessions are about being fired, losing your home, and companies going under.
The mainstream press is instead treating the recession more like a seasonal change in fashion.
In a strange echo of the frivolous attitude that stoked up the debt bubble in the first place, much of the media seems to see the recession as a new ’story’, just as they’d salute skirts going back above the knee or the return of cashmere.
Over the past few months I’ve noticed:
I don’t want to sound too mean-spirited about this; lifestyle journalists have mortgages to pay, too, and I’ve nothing against a bit of fun to brighten up dark times.
But what worries me is that for the average person in the street, these silly articles constitute their main information diet for dealing with the recession!
The mainstream press is instead treating the recession more like a seasonal change in fashion.
In a strange echo of the frivolous attitude that stoked up the debt bubble in the first place, much of the media seems to see the recession as a new ’story’, just as they’d salute skirts going back above the knee or the return of cashmere.
Over the past few months I’ve noticed:
- Articles in glossy magazines explaining how to throw a thrifty Christmas party, with top tips such as forgoing a party bag for each guest, and plumping for free-range turkey instead of a goose for that special retro touch
- Fashion writers talking of a new austere mood on the catwalks, which supposedly means that a £5,000 jacket with a few less shiny buttons is in touch with the times
- Photos of well-groomed kids tumbling out of Range Rovers in remote corners of the country in articles extolling the joys of a stay-at-home holiday
- Countless jokey references to the credit crunch and resultant penury throughout the lifestyle sections of newspapers and magazines
I don’t want to sound too mean-spirited about this; lifestyle journalists have mortgages to pay, too, and I’ve nothing against a bit of fun to brighten up dark times.
But what worries me is that for the average person in the street, these silly articles constitute their main information diet for dealing with the recession!
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