Breaking from the Narrative

Steve Hagey, the Bank of America executive, made a good point during his talk to our class. He spoke of an incident in which a reporter took some comments out of context, and spun them in a negative way. Mr. Hagey noted that reporters often do not want to “break from the narrative.”

With regards to the financial crisis, the narrative is that the big banks are villains that drove our country into recession. And while the large investment banks did take unwise risks that lead to large losses, the cause of the financial crisis is much more complex, with many more players involved. Policies stemming from both the Clinton and Bush administrations facilitated financial deregulation and encouraged too many people to pursue homeownership. Mortgage companies were giving out loans without proof of assets or income, and individuals were taking out mortgages they could not afford. But the banks were by far the most vilified throughout the crisis; the steps they took to rectify the situation were seldom reported on because journalists were hesitant to break the narrative that the banks were the villains.

While it is troubling that the causes of the financial crisis were not fully and accurately reported on a wide scale, this instance of not wanting to break from the narrative highlights a larger problem. The public can sometimes rely too much on what they hear from the mainstream media and take it as absolute fact. The backlash against the banks, and the failure to recognize larger systemic problems, has illustrated a degree of ignorance in the American public. I think it’s important that the American public understand the full story,

Actually educating the American public on complex matters like these is difficult; for most people, their main source of information is the mainstream media, and most people do not have the free time to extensively research these topics on their own. It then becomes imperative that journalists report stories without bias or spin. As we known, that is often difficult.

In highly publicized and controversial stories, journalists face a dilemma. On one hand, there seems to be pressure to paint a certain picture, to establish a narrative. This makes for a good series of stories. On the other hand, journalists have a responsibility to the public to provide the most complete and accurate information. This can often take the edge out of stories, and put more pressure on the public to come to their own conclusion. It seems that this responsibility is often at odds with the pressure to establish a certain narrative.

There is no easy solution to reconcile these conflicting pressures. The responsibility falls on both sides; the American public must hold journalists to a high standard and demand an unbiased approach to stories. Journalists must recognize and respect their duty of accurate reporting. But actually reaching this resolution is easier said than done.

Alex Gannon