Covering Business Requires Realism, Splash of Optimism

You're staring at a 12-ounce glass. It's holding about six ounces of water. Is the glass half-filled or half-empty?

Chances are good the optimist will say half-filled, noting something is always better than nothing and 50 percent or more gets you closer to where you want to be. You're headed in the right direction. Keep trying. Besides, there's an amazing story in how the water was discovered, transported, and poured, no doubt.

By contrast, the pessimist will pick half-empty, saying what's missing robs the drinker of being satisfied and suggests the provider fell short of what's really possible. It's terrible. Why did you do that? You should have used a smaller glass if that's all the water you're capable of sharing. Cheapskate. Idiot.

And so it goes with life's developments and news reporting. Most people like good times. Journalists are paid skeptics. A conflict from time to time is natural, especially when it comes to the economy.

Struggling businesses thirst for indications the worst recession since the Great Depression is over. Consumers will spend, especially on big purchases, if they're confident their jobs aren't threatened by uncertainty. Optimistic employers will return to hiring. Additional paychecks are further predictors of growth that can erase months of painful declines.

The glass half-filled, half-empty reference has come up repeatedly during this lingering recession.

Generally, our Business News team has done a good job lately of balancing the good with the bad, especially in the Sunday Moneywise section. But a steady dose of bad news about the economy can overwhelm.

Everyone is looking for signs the recovery is here. (A local Realtor sent letters to potential clients saying the recession is over because she read in

The Times-Dispatch that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it.) So, when we report yet another negative economic report, reporters and editors are branded pessimists and purveyors of negativity.

The problem is, both the optimists and pessimists are right when looking at our glass of water. It's a fact -- six is half of 12. You need six more ounces for a full glass. No arguments. But in these times, the better solution is to recognize the context. And to surprise with a new angle.

An issue with economic reports is that they cover what happened weeks or months ago, not what's ahead. A continuation of a recession is news. Again, no argument here. But how hard people, businesses, and organizations are battling to survive and, in some cases, prosper is emerging as the most important account. You remember happy endings. You try to forget bad experiences.

Our work with the Southeastern Institute of Research of Richmond backs this up.

In studies about our readership, SIR found that interest rises in uplifting articles that give people hope and inspiration. It's not that bad news always repels. Important watchdog journalism always scores high.

But what people really want are healthy doses of how people confronted a problem, figured out ways to rebound, and lived to tell a story full of valuable lessons that could help others. Success attracts.

That brings us to the glass-half-empty headline on the main Business page Oct 1. The story was a good overview of the annual Parade of Homes, which showcases the work of local builders over three consecutive weekends this month. But the secondary headline read: "Parade of Homes has only 71 entries, fewest since 1984."

It's an accurate statement. But an optimist would have seized that even having a show this year was a major accomplishment.

Assembling a show of 71 new homes is amazing given the punishing, bumpy financial landscape the real estate industry is traveling. And while other regions decided not to organize open houses of new homes, the Richmond builders found a way to keep the program going, with a renewed emphasis on first houses for entry-level buyers.

So, let's mark the 2009 Parade of Homes a victory.

It's easy to be a pessimist. And I'm not saying watchdogs should all be lapdogs. But these days, we all could use a solid period of looking through the lens of an optimist when it comes to the economy. (I could make the same argument about coverage of my industry.)

You'd still report the glass was half-filled, noting the room for improvement. But we might actually like what we see. And that's also a better conversation.

By the way, thanks for the water.

Tom Silvestri is president and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He can be reached at (804) 649-6121 or at .