| by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP® |
We actually read newspapers
Picture this: dad in his easy chair reading a newspaper. Something out of Norman Rockwell, right? But that’s how I grew up. Either the New Haven Register or the Hartford Courant were delivered by a paperboy. Dad brought the Wall St. Journal home every day for me to read. Life magazine and National Geographic came in the mail.
The point is that if I or anyone else wanted news we’d go to today’s paper. If something happened today, I wouldn’t know about it until either a later edition of the paper came out, or until I read tomorrow’s paper. I somehow managed to get along without instantaneously knowing everything.
The 24-hour news cycle
CNN came along and that was the beginning of the constant news cycle, leading consumers away from broadcast TV to cable. Many other competitors came along (MSNBC, Fox, Bloomberg, et. al.) and the news is now ubiquitous. One can’t get away from it.
The Medium is the Massage
In 1967 Marshall McLuhan published a very influential book called The Medium is the Massage. From McLuhan: “All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences, they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered.”
Managing the news cycle
As part of my fiduciary responsibilities to my investment clients, I need to stay on top of the news. But how do I personally manage the dominance of the news cycle?
- I consume news usually three times per day: upon beginning my workday, at lunchtime, and at some point in the evening before bed.
- I check various news sources, some I trust and others I don’t. To avoid confirmation bias, I deliberately seek out other points of view that challenge mine.
- I don’t let the news worry me. God is on His throne. I live my life with prudence and wisdom.
- I try to live happily if not joyfully. I have everything I need, and much of what I want.
Clients Worry
People sometimes call with worries about what’s in the news. The recent goings-on in Iran are a case in point. What should I do? You should do exactly nothing in reaction to the news, and remain focused on your financial plan. The stock market re-prices itself daily. That means prices change daily. But good stuff is still good stuff, even when the prices change.
As I tell people, The government does not equal the economy, and the economy does not equal the stock market.
The medium is the massage. We all need to think for ourselves and keep perspective.
