A tale of two papers

By Michael Fraase

Sunday, 20 July 2008 02:21PM CST

Section: Media

US consumer debtIndicative of just how far the Washington Post has fallen is a comparison between lead stories in the Post and the New York Times. Gretchen Morgenson’s “Given a shovel, Americans dig deeper into debt” for the Times is the keystone of a series on consumer debt in the US and is a good piece of journalism committed by corporate media. Morgenson’s piece is accompanied by a trio of video presentations, an interactive debt analyzer, and an infographic with annotation of the course consumer debt has taken in the US since 1920.

Morgenson’s reporting is excellent, the videos are compelling, and the annotated infographic feature, “The American way of debt” is remarkable in its clarity and is exceptionally well-produced, as is the entire package.

The interactive debt analyzer is the weak link. Because it doesn’t consider assets, it’s terribly misrepresentative of the true fiscal picture of the American citizenry. Fully 40% of the households in my age and income bracket carry no debt whatever, according to the analyzer. I suspect it’s because that 40% don’t own homes, not because they’ve paid off their mortgages.

Morgenson’s series leaves little room for doubt that the entirety of the various lending industries in the US need to be severely reigned in.

Contrast the Times package with Ovetta Wiggins’s monstrosity for the Post, “Calling on gospel to call off debt.” Praise Jesus, cut up your credit cards, go to our debt management classes, and oh, don’t forget your 10% tithe. It’s just pitiful.

We need corporate media in our media diets because that’s where the money still is. For now. And it takes money to produce packages like Morgenson’s. So take a pass on the Post and pick up the Times. A really good profile of Si Newhouse and an absolutely stunning adaptation of David Carr’s forthcoming book are well worth your morning.

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