The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics Meredith M. Price

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The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
Meredith M. Price
The University Of Southern Mississippi
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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Abstract
Mass media is suggested to be a catalyst toward economic impact. Studies
posit that media information has either a negative and positive affect, which in turn
can impact individual’s attitude. Consumer behavior research supports the idea that
negative media content on the certain issues can cause the economy to fluctuate.
This paper explores how mass media functions and how media concepts are
related to economic impact. Research in media impact on the economy of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the focus of study.
Relating media and it’s impact on the economy is challenging but a necessary factor
to study while in pursuit of understanding other factors in economic impact and
media effects. The behavior of the economy can be impacted by how the media
presents information towards the public.
Introduction of mass media effects
Print, radio, television, Internet, and social networks are common types of
media. Media extends out to large masses of people and provides information to the
public on various subjects, entertain, and to gratify people’s curiosities. As mass
media has expanded and become more obtainable—cell phones, iTouch, and
laptops—so have the influences on a person’s cognitive ability. It would appear that
the individual has become more reliable on consulting the media.
The news media is on a 24 hours and 7 days a week cycle. News is constantly
streaming on the Internet through various websites and blogs. A widely accepted
model of communication is the Westley-MacLean model of communication. It
describes how information is gathered and disseminated to the audience (Severin
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
and Tankard, 2001). A closer look at the Westley-Mac Lean model of communication
aids in the study of how the media functions.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
(Figure 1). Westley-MacLean Model of Communication
Westley, B., and M. MacLean. 1957. “A conseptual Model for Communication Research.” Journalism Quarterly,
34:31-38
4
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
Westley and MacLean (1955) posit four different participating parties
involved in media communications. The parties are of A (advocacy role), C
(communication), B (receiver), X (objects of orientation), and f (feedback). X’s
represent “objects of orientation” which includes; events, objects, ideas, and people.
The Xs are within the sensory of A, B, and C. The A represents the advocacy roles
and observes the Xs and then transmits purposeful messages about its findings
through media.
C represents the communicator responsible for channel roles that are
received by B. An example of this would be television channels, websites,
newspapers, etc. C also functions as a “gatekeeper” which selects information from
Xs and A, and strives to satisfy B’s desire of information. C then chooses what
outlet/medium is appropriate for obtaining information to B roles. Now with the
Internet and faster means of communication, C is able to receive information from
several Xs. However, creating meaning is difficult out of bias/raw information from
the Xs; therefore, A is still necessary for more accurate perception, according to
Westley and MacLean (1957). .
The Westley-MacLean model allows messages to be purposive (with the
intent of modifying B’s perception of X) or non purposive (without any intent on the
part of the communicator to influence B) (Severin and Tankard, p. 61, 2001). With B
being perceived as the public or individual groups, they need information about
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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their environment to help gratify self-satisfaction and help solve problems (Severin,
Tankard, p. 63 2001). The model also provides feedback (f) from the receiver (B) to
the communicator (C) as well as from the communicator (C) back to the advocate
(A). Without this connection of feedback from the different consumers there would
be a lack in information development and in construction information selection.
This model is important in the understanding of how consumers take in news
media and how the different channels, orientations, and advocates can affect
consumer perceptions. This mass communications model aids in understanding
how the different theories of mass media effects could effect economic development.
MEDIA EFFECTS
The effects of mass media are theoretically applicable to the fluctuations in
economic development and are either direct or indirect. McGuire noted several of
the most commonly mentioned intended media effects are; (a) the effects of
advertising on purchasing, (b) the effects of political campaigns on voting, (c) the
effects of public service announcements (PSAs) on personal behavior and social
improvement, (d) the effects of media ritual on social control (McGuire, 1989).
McGuire also pointed out the most commonly mentioned unintended media effects;
(a) emotional behavior, (b) the impact of media images on the social construction of
reality, (c) the effects of media bias on stereotyping, and (d) how media forms affect
cognitive activity and style (McGuire, 1989).
In addition to these media effects, McGuire’s partner, McQuail, summarizes
that the main streams of effects research of other areas of media effects are; (a)
knowledge gain and distribution throughout society, (b) diffusion of innovations, (c)
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
socialization to societal norms, and (d) institution and cultural adaptations and
changes (McQuail 1972). A more in-depth analysis will be explored on specific
media effects in this body of work.
Media Agenda Setting
The concept of agenda setting set by the media is a likely factor that can
influence economic development. The agenda-setting function of the media refers
to the media’s capability, through repeated news coverage, of raising the importance
of an issue in the public’s mind (Severin, Tankard pg. 219). McCombs and Shaw
reported the first systematic study of agenda-setting hypothesis in 1972.
Findings in McCombs and Shaw’s “Chapel Hill Study” supported that mediaagenda setting can influence political campaigns (1972). Voter perception of a
particular campaign platform was shaped based on what the media choose to
emphasis on. McCombs and Shaw’s data suggested that a strong relationship
between the emphasis placed on different campaign issues by the media and the
judgments of voters are to the salience and importance of various campaign topics
(1972).
A precursor to McCombs and Shaw’s hypothesis suggests that what people
will think the facts are, and what most people will regard as the way problems are to
be dealt with is portrayed through the media (Norton Long, p. 260 1958). Also,
mass media forces attention to certain issues and are constantly presenting objects
suggesting what individuals in the mass should think about, know about, have
feelings about (Kurt, Gladys Engle Lang p. 232 1959).
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Concepts that the media reported on were economic policy of the different
campaigns (McCombs and Shaw 1972). These reports could influence consumer
confidence. The level of consumer confidence augurs consumer spending— and
thus the future trajectory of the economy— and it affects a variety of political
behavior such as election outcomes, macropartisanship (Erikson, MacKuen, and
Stimson 2002), presidential approval (MacKuen, Erikson, and Stimson 1992, public
policy mood (Durr, 1993), congressional approval (Durr, Gilmour, and Wolbrecht
1997), and trust in government (Chanley, Rudolph, and Rahn 2000).
Additional experiments have been conducted to learn more about the effects
of media agenda setting. Media agenda setting determines the criteria by which an
issue will be evaluated (Iyengar, Kinder, Peters, 1982). This concept is known as
priming. Priming is the process in which media attends to particular issues and not
others and thereby alter the standards by which people evaluate and act on an issue
(Severin, Tankard p 226). The concept of priming builds on the idea that mass
media does have the power to build agendas outside of its own. Therefore, the
media acts as a director, actor, and consumer of it’s own product.
The application of agenda setting and it’s influence on economic
development can be seen in the case study of news coverage on women in the 1996
Olympic games and how the economy had a slight dip. Newspaper coverage of the
1996 Olympic games primarily were of women due to the addition of two women’s
events debuted which was soccer and softball, along with women’s mountain biking
and beach volleyball. The media emphasized on women’s progress. Women also
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
were recognized as an important television audience. NBC, the official U.S. Olympic
television network, sought to deliver on promised rating to advertisers by attracting
the largest possible audience and women were the target (Kinnick, 1998).
Women decided to follow the Olympic games by watching television rather
than going out and shopping suggests Kinnick. This in turn caused a brief moment
of loss in the month of August in the gross retails sales on a national level. Little
growth in economic activity was seen and some economist believe that the rise in
women viewership of the Olympics set off the slowing of gross retail sales on a
national level (Kinnick, 1998).
Cultivation theory, used in mass media studies, is a concept that explains
how people’s perceptions, attitudes, and values change from consumption of media.
Exposure to the same messages that debut in the mass media produces what
researchers refer to cultivation, or the teaching of a common worldview, common
roles, and common values (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli, p. 14 1980).
Thus, Media can have a negative impact upon cognitive thinking.
Psychological literature supplements the cultivation theory by suggesting
that unfavorable information has a greater impact on impression than does
favorable information, across a wide variety of situations (e.g., Ronis and Lipinski
1985; Singh and Teoh 2000; Van der Pligt and Eiser 1980; Vonk 1993, 1996). Stuart
N. Soroka’s (2006) research in media’s effect on economics suggests that there
exists an “asymmetric responses to bad and good economic information”.
Research in economics posits a prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky
1979). Prospect theory is a choice under uncertainty, which contains a feature
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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called loss aversion. People react more fervently towards a loss in utility than they
do towards a gain of equal magnitude (Soroka, 2006). This individual-level loss
adverse behavior is evident in macroeconomic dynamics: consumption tends to
drop more when the economy contracts than rise when the economy expands
(Bowman, Minehart, and Rabin 1999).
Examples in media suggest that overemphasizing the prevalence of violent
crime (e.g., Altheide 1997; Davie and Lee 1995; Smith 1984), and events involving
conflict or crisis receive a greater degree of media attention (Bagdikian 1987;
Herman and Chomsky 1988; Parachos 1988; Patterson 1997; Shoemaker, Danielian,
and Brendlinger 1991). Most relevant to the current analysis, U.S. networks
regularly give more coverage to bad economic trends than to good economic trends
(Harrington 1989).
The prominence of negative media coverage may be driven by the same
individual-level theories such as media agenda setting, priming, and framing.
Journalists are individuals, writing articles to appeal to other individuals and thus
regard negative information as more important, not just based on their own
interests, but also on the interests of their news consuming audience (Soroka,
2006).
There is however, an alternative explanation for the prominence of negative
news. It may be that media outlets’ emphasis on negative news reflects one of the
principle institutional functions in democracy: holding current Governments (and
companies, and indeed some individuals) accountable (Carlyle 1841). Therefore,
media is a surveillance that mainly involves identifying problems and at times over
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
emphasizes negative information. But some scholars think it is the media’s job to do
so (David Lyon, p. 21, 2007).
Surveillance of the media includes economy facts, stock market reports and
the overall well being of a nation (Severin and Tankard, p. 321, 2006). Surveillance
function can cause several dysfunctions such as panic due to the overemphasis of
issues facing a society. Lazarsfeld and Merton (1948/1960) noted that “narcotizing”
dysfunction when individuals fall into a state of apathy or passivity as a result of too
much information to assimilate may leave many audience members with little
perspective of what is normal.
Studies of media effects on economic fluctuations propose that the 1990
recession, in popular belief, was widely spread by the press’s effect on people’s
pessimism of the general economy (Marcelle Chauvet and Jang-Ting Guo, 2003).
Negative reports on the national economy led to a fall in consumer confidence
(Marcelle Chauvet and Jang-Ting Guo, 2003).1
In particular, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in
December 1990 pointed to consumer sentiment as one of the principal contributing
factors for this recession. Blanchard (1993) and Hall (1993) both attribute the 1990
recession to a significant drop in consumption, and speculate that consumer
sentiment may have had something to do with it.
Findings conducted by Chauvet and Guo (2003) pointed out that
consumption growth did switch to a low-growth state at the beginning of the 1989
1 For example, The New York Times on April 3, 1991, reported a quote by Roger Brinner, director of research at
DRI/McGraw-Hill, that “If consumers hadn’t panicked, there wouldn’t have been a recession.” In addition, the
lead story in The Wall Street Journal on November 4, 1991, was entitled “Economy in the U.S. Isn’t Nearly as
Sour as the Country’s Mood. But Pessimism Could Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Further Stalling Recover.
Can Attitude Be Everything?”
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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slowing of the economy (Figure 2). Consumer confidence also fell during the
slowing, as observed in all the previous low-growth phases and recessions (f1)
(Chauvet and Guo, 2003). However, the probabilities of consumer pessimism based
on non-fundamentals rose only in July 1990, which coincided with the onset of this
recession (Figure2). The same pattern was observed for growth in personal income,
manufacturing trade and sales, and employment, whose falls coincided with the
beginning of this recession. Therefore, consumers’ pessimism did not seem to be a
source of this recession (Chauvet and Guo, 2003).
However Chauvet and Guo (2003) notes that consumers’ pessimism may
have been an important factor in intensifying and extending the 1989-1992
economic slowdown. The figures created by Chauvet and Guo (2003) reveal that
low consumption growth phase lagged consumers’ pessimism, and lasted until the
end of the sample in 1995. Thus, the unprecedented extended slowdown could have
been a reflection of consumers’ attitudes toward the economy after the official end
of the 1990 economic recession (Chauvet and Guo, 2003).
Chauvet and Guo (2003) proposed at the end of their research that U.S.
recessions and slowdowns could have been responses not to shifts in economic
fundamentals, but to agents’ self-fulfilling pessimism.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
(Figure 2). (f1-f4 clockwise starting top left) The 1990 recession: Probabilities of consumers’ and investors’
pessimism, low
consumption and investment growth states, investment growth, 3-month T-Bill rate, growth
rates of employment, personal income, and sales—NBER recessions (shaded areas) and
slowdowns (- - -).
Marcelle Chauvet . SUNSPOTS, ANIMAL SPIRITS, AND ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS. Macroeconomic Dynamics,
Volume 7, Number 1 (February 2003), pp. 140-169,
http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=J8D8D5YBVKD44TTPFUQ6
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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Self-fulfilling pessimism is the result from news refraction hypothesis
suggested by McLeod and associates (1995). Their hypothesis suggests that local
content of news media exposure could have a strong influence on perceptions of
issues and the “closeness of home”. Therefore, viewer’s doubts suppress the urge
for action, and a reclusive approach is taken towards issues (McLeod et al., 1995).
A study of the media’s impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast economy after the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill was conducted to support the theory that media can
potentially impact an economy.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which began after the Deepwater Horizon
rig explosion on April 20th and continued to leak for another three months was a
challenging event for news media to cover. Unlike most catastrophes, which tend to
break quickly and subside almost as fast, the spill was a slow-motion disaster that
demanded constant vigilance and sustained reporting (journalism.org). Also the
media had to learn how to report on the oil spill by using NOAA (National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration) maps and by consulting scientist and researchers who
were part of the response team for BP.
The story on a national level consisted of three competing story lines-the role
of BP, the Obama Administration, and the events in the Gulf region. The coverage of
the disastrous saga along affected coastal states was in-depth. Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida pan handle was bombarded with journalists
literally waiting on the beaches and headlining articles about how the oil was an
economic, ecological, and political Armageddon.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
To evaluate the coverage, PEJ (Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence
in Journalism) studied approximately 2,866 stories about the oil spill produced from
April 20 to July 28-from the day that the Deepwater Horizon exploded to the day the
BP CEO Tony Hayard’s departure was announced. From that time, the oil spill was
by far the dominant story in mainstream news media in the 100-day period. It
accounted for 22% of the newshole and in the 14 full weeks included in this study,
the disaster finished amount the top three weekly stories 14 times (PEJ, 2010). It
registered as the No. 1 story in nine of those weeks (PEJ, 2010). Figure 3 represents
the percent of newshole coverage.
(Figure 3)
http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/100_days_gushing_oil
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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Case Study
A study was conducted of the primary local paper of the Mississippi Gulf
Coast. The Sun Herald ran articles related to the oil spill on a daily since April 22,
2010 until the end of the research on August 31, 2010. In addition to counting how
many articles appeared in the Sun Herald relating to the Oil spill, a word count of
oil/spill was also conducted (Figure 4). In addition, two other newspapers that are
exposed to local residents were studied. Article counts were conducted on the New
Orleans Times-Picayune and the Mobile Press-Register (Figure 4). These two
papers also contained daily articles of the oil spill.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
(Figure 4)
Collected newspaper data
Newspaper
Source
April
24
May
301
June
358
July
301
August
121
Press-Register
33
329
337
284
272
TimesPicayune
12
206
234
181
52
120
1517
2430
1406
567
Sun Herald
Word Count
Sun Herald
Source: Hard copies of each paper
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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Economic data of Gross retail sales and unemployment rate of the three
coastal counties; Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson, was collected. The months of May,
June, July, and September revealed an increase in unemployment rate (Mississippi
Department of Employment Security, 2010), (Figure 5). The month of August
reported a decrease in the unemployment rate (Figure 6), which related to the
increase in BP volunteers for the month of July when the oil came ashore more
abundantly. Also the newspaper reports less on the oil spill in the months of July
and August. If all newspaper articles were held constant from the previous month,
September’s increase in unemployment though, would prove that little relation
exists between media and economic impact (Figure 7).
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
(Figure 5)
Collected Data of Article Count/WordCount,
Retail Sales% Change 09-10, Unemployment % Change 09-10
Source: Hard copy of newspaper/Unemployment Rates:
http://www.mdes.ms.gov/Home/docs/LMI/Publications/Labor%20Market%20Data/labormarketdata.pdf
Mississippi Gross Retail Sales: Mississippi Department of Revenue:
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_1010.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0910.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0810.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0710.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0610.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0510.pdf,
Month
May
June
July
August
News Paper
Sun Herald
Press-Register
TimesPicayune
Article Count
301
329
Sun Herald
Press-Register
TimesPicayune
358
337
Sun Herald
Press-Register
TimesPicayune
301
284
Sun Herald
Press-Register
TimesPicayune
121
272
Word
1517
206
2430
234
1406
181
52
567
County
Hancock
Harrison
2009-2010
Retail Sales %
Change
(-)6.12
(-)7.46
2009-2010
Unemployment %
Change
1.6
2.3
Jackson
(-)8.04
2.4
Hancock
Harrison
(-)14.69
(-)6.95
.9
1.4
Jackson
(-)7.41
1.3
Hancock
Harrison
(-)14.69
(-)10.54
1.2
1.2
Jackson
(-)3.73
1.2
Hancock
Harrison
(-)18.16
1.00
(-)0.3
(-)0.3
Jackson
(-)2.38
(-)0.4
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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(Figure 7)
Mississippi State Tax Commission
Two-Year Comparison of Gross Retail Sales 2009-2010
May
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
June
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
July
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
2009
$663,508,863.87
$4,049,297,147.04
$1,880,907,665.18
2010
$622,871,688.98
$3,747,045,158.16
$1,729,726,459.39
Difference
($40,637,174.89)
($302,251,988)
($151,181,205.79)
(-)6.12%
(-)7.46%
(-)8.04
$720,090,435.01
&4,392,627,311.30
$2,044,062,723.58
$675,428,513.22
$4,087,141,874.45
$1,892,597,535.49
($44,661,921.79)
($305,485,436.85)
($151,465,188.09)
(-)6.20%
(-)6.95%
(-)7.41%
$71,296,099
$379,195,437
%185,656,947
$60,822,315
$419,153,048
%192,584,360
($10,473,784)
($39,957,611)
($6,927,413)
(-)14.69%
(-)10.54%
(-)3.73%
Source: Mississippi Gross Retail Sales: Mississippi Department of Revenue:
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_1010.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0910.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0810.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0710.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0610.pdf,
http://www.dor.ms.gov/docs/stats_172summary_0510.pdf
%
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
August
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
September
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
October
Hancock County
Harrison County
Jackson County
$140,907,979
$751,422,627
$339,872,736
$115,323,203
$758,940,117
$331,777,981
($25,584,776)
$7,517,490
($8,094,755)
(-)18.16%
1.00%
(-)2.38
$165,330,045
$1,073,863,967
$461,196,959
$198,709,060
$1,101,365,019
$484,196,969
($33,379,015)
($27,501,052)
($23,000,010)
(-)16.80%
(-)2.50%
(-)4,75%
$213,678,199
$1,398,080,157
$605,895,473
$254,912,577
$1,425,405,084
$649,069,627
($41,234,378)
($27,324,927)
($43,174,154)
(-)16.18%
(-)1.92%
(-)6.65%
(Figure 6)
Unemployment Rate by County
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
May
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
June
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
July
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
August
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
September
Hancock
Harrison
Jackson
2009
2010
8.0%
7.2%
7.8%
9.6
9.5%
10.2%
% Change
1.6
2.3
2.4
8.3%
7.8%
8.4%
9.2%
9.2%
9.7%
0.9
1.4
1.3
8.4%
8.1%
8.7%
9.6%
9.3%
9.9%
1.2
1.2
1.2
8.0%
7.7%
8.3%
7.7%
7.2%
7.9%
(-)0.3
(-)0.3
(-)0.4
7.9%
7.5%
8.4%
8.7%
8.1%
8.9%
0.8
0.6
0.5
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
22
A survey was conducted asking 100 coastal residents: What is the greatest
threat from the oil spill? 78% wrote that the greatest threat was towards the local
economy (figure 8). A pole conducted in October revealed that: 42% believed the
media coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a key factor the slowing of
the local economy while 37% believed the national recession was a possibility, 16%
blamed it on Hurricane Katrina, and 5% responded: no opinion (figure 9).
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
(Figure 8)
(Figure 9)
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
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“Dead sea turtles wash ashore,” claimed the Sun Herald on May 2, 2010.
Journalist would write articles about the turtles even though their cause of death
was not related to the oil spill, which was proved by marine biologists. These types
of articles began to frequently appear in the local papers such as the Times Picayune
of New Orleans, LA, the Pres-Register of Mobile, AL, and the Sun Herald of Gulfport,
MS. These three papers were of particular interest in this case study because they
are the most consumed papers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The media agenda setting effects began to naturally set in as the oil
continued to gush. Story after story from journalist trying to outdo each other has
filled the wires for years to come of the effects of the oil spill. There was an
overreporting of significant but unusual events. This was an issue in the Santa
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
Barbara oil spill, which was significant but received exaggerated coverage because
of it’s unusualness and because people enjoy the sensationalism (Severin, Tankard p
232 2001).
Observations suggest the media’s agenda emphasized on gushing oil, dying
wildlife, tainted seafood, and oiled beaches (Sun Herald appendix) the media did not
specifically state that small regions affected. Even though the media was clear in
portraying which areas were being impacted, the content was correct. The effects of
the media on a national level could have possibly impacted people pessimisms and
following with possible economic slowdown suggested by (Chauvet, Guo 2003),
economy (figure 9).
As the surge of media reports on the oil spill flooded the mass media,
economic impact along the Mississippi Gulf Coast experienced little significant
growth. Overall, the oil spill created job losses and also crushed the fishing industry,
which had a ripple effect that reached restaurant nationwide. At the same time
though, BP created temporary jobs along the gulf states and also occupied hundreds
of hotel rooms. These factors are significant in contributing towards the economic
data researched.
Adam Sacks, managing director of Oxford Economics USA mentioned that
“History and current trends indicate a potential $22.7 billion economic loss to the
travel economics of the Gulf Coast states over the next three years could be
possible” (Sun Herald 07/24/2010). Sacks continues, “One of the most costeffective ways to mitigate these damages is to immediately fund strategic marketing
to counter misperceptions and encourage travel to the region” (Sun Herald
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
26
07/24/2010). Misperception created by the media is a factor that Sacks mentions in
his consulting towards the Gulf Coast tourism sector.
Conclusion:
Theories support the idea that mass media has significant economic impact.
Media theories such as media agenda setting, priming, framing, and cultural theory
support the concept of how media can impact an economy, however little research
has been conducted on this subject. Economic research supports the idea that
sentiments of the consumer can be affected by media content and therefore could
lead to fluctuations in the economy.
Research posited by Chauvet and Guo (2003), support the idea that an
economic slowdown is impacted by agents’ self-fulfilling pessimism. Studies such as
Soroka’s work (2006) strengthens the argument that; public responses to negative
economic information such as the oil spill, are much greater than are public
responses towards positive information. This suggests that the media’s portrayal of
the oil spill could have caused more harm than good on the perception of the local
economies.
Limitations: The case study of how media’s coverage of Deepwater Horizon and the
impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast economy is limited in many ways. More
economic data such as sales tax, inflation, and direct tax losses would aid in further
research of how the effects of media relate to the economy’s slump. Also, data
starting pre Katrina would an important addition to real the fluctuations in the
economic cycle of the three coastal counties.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
Additional newspaper research is necessary in the future of this research.
The reflection of the articles, negative or positive, could support the pole data that
was conducted as well. Time constraint was the greatest obstacle in research.
Greater evidence from next year’s economic data would be of better support that
what is available now. Quantitative research now is rather premature at this
moment.
The Mass Media and its Impact on Economics
28
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