Foolish Fisher
May 17th 2009 06:23
In 2007 a Californian funds management company named Fisher Investments posted the following to its blog: "99% of news is produced by for-profit enterprises. This means the press has an incentive to sell more media and compete with others trying to do the same. The easiest way to consistently sell media is to make people believe they need to consume the content offered. They only way to do that is to make the content seem important — urgently important. The only way to make things seem urgent is through fear. Thus, the media has an incentive to be dour, to make us worry and create angst. It sells papers."
Not only is this garbage, but Fisher tried justifying it by pointing to this heading on a 2007 media report, "Corporate Debt Risk Jumps on Concern over Bear Stearns Funds", and claiming this was evidence of media bias.
"The media is very quick to intone that Bear Stearns’ Hedge Fund woes could be 'just the tip of the iceberg' and the cause of increasing credit risk. But common sense shows that’s highly unlikely," says Fisher.
Boy, did they get that wrong! I've written a fuller report on Fisher's foolishness at the Cutting Through blog.
Not only is this garbage, but Fisher tried justifying it by pointing to this heading on a 2007 media report, "Corporate Debt Risk Jumps on Concern over Bear Stearns Funds", and claiming this was evidence of media bias.
"The media is very quick to intone that Bear Stearns’ Hedge Fund woes could be 'just the tip of the iceberg' and the cause of increasing credit risk. But common sense shows that’s highly unlikely," says Fisher.
Boy, did they get that wrong! I've written a fuller report on Fisher's foolishness at the Cutting Through blog.
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Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
Isn't this what all marketing is about - having us believe we need things that we don't? But, I guess, when an organisation is setting themselves up as a sort of financial advisor it is somehow more devious.
Comment by Chris Champion
moneywhither
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
All the world's a little devious save thee and me ... I have to stop corrupting that saying ...