Is the media talking us into recession?

Being old enough to remember the last recession in the early 1990's,the general feling then was that part of the problem was the media coverage which talkd the country into recession.

Downturns after all are mainly due to a lack of confidence and constant headlines about falling house prices,the end of good times,oil prices,and inflation can only help to sow the seeds of doubt in the consumers mind.

Over at the Sky news blog,coverage of the recession is defended.

We are trying to reflect the reality out there. If the economic news is bad, we can't pretend it is good.
And we would seem to be out of touch with you if we didn't highlight the problems you are facing.
As with the Northern Rock story, we haven't created the concern but we are reflecting it.

It's a good point and the media of course has a duty to report what is going on,but the problem is often the positio in the agenda.The Middle class papers of the Mail and the Express will often lead with the latest in the downward economic trends.

This morning the Express is leading with a story about possible fuel shortages,I wander whether this for example will mean queues at the pumps later today