I’m pretty fed up with hearing about all the bad things that are happening to companies in this country. The news channels and newspapers are full of doom and gloom. Look at how much media coverage Woolworths demise got. Did you know that the food store Iceland has bought 51 former Woolworths stores and is planning to create 2,500 jobs? Possibly not, because the media coverage that this fantastic piece of news received is completely disproportionate with coverage given to the doom and gloom stories.

This morning, I’ve also heard that Poundland is opening 30 new stores in 2009 which will create 1,000 new jobs. I wonder how much coverage this story will be given. It seems to me that the media are only interested in bad news, presumably because only bad news sells, and that is rather a sad reflection of the state of humanity.

Britain is in recession – no doubt about that. Businesses will fail as a result – sure. But, how bad does it need to be? Recessions can be a time of opportunity for those businesses that know how to take advantage of it. It could almost be seen as a sort of natural selection that will leave behind only the well-managed and stable companies. This is no comfort to employees of the failing businesses though. And, what about all the people that are still in work and earning money – the vast majority of us? It would seem that we are less willing to save money, because we are all suffering with a media induced panic that we could be next.

Think about it though:

Petrol is cheaper because the price of oil has crashed. We are now paying 36p less per litre for unleaded than we were when the prices peaked last year. I save £21.60 every time I fill my tank. And those oil prices will in turn bring down our home energy bills too. Groceries are becoming cheaper again too. Stores are desperate for business, and there are great deals to be had everywhere. There has never been a better time to buy a new car! So why keep your money in the bank? They are paying naff all interest now, and for all you know, the banks will go under too.

By believing all the media sensationalist scaremongering and keeping our cash in our pockets, we make the situation worse. If you are keeping hold of your money because you are worried about losing your job, think about the effects of doing so. If no-one spends money, then there won’t be any jobs. We have to carry on as normal.

It really riles me that the BBC insist on calling it “The Downturn”. They have all their nice downturn logo and graphics. Rubbish! It’s a recession. On the one hand they want to scare the living crap out of people, and on the other they seem to be unable to call it what it is. Very bizarre.

It seems to me that the media just make bad situations worse. What we need right now is a news station to cut through all the nonsense figures, statistics and political bickering, and give us the truth. Helpful advice about how to mitigate the effects of the recession and lots of publicity surrounding companies that are doing well and expanding.