Is the media too negative on real estate?
That sentiment is likely to come as a surprise to many of the regulars who comment on this blog.
The complaint I often hear is that reporter X or newspaper Y is somehow in bed with the local real estate industry and desperately trying to put a happy spin on otherwise bad news.
Sure, that can happen, but my view is that this critique, in its extreme, is off base.
But on the other side of the fence are the real estate brokers. And, from a read of this "roundtable" discussion on "Standing up to Negativity: How to Counter Media Reports," many of them see things much differently.
The roundtable features two brokerage owners, one in Las Vegas, the other from New Jersey, carping about what they see as media "negativity" and doling out some questionable advice on how to deal with it.
This line from the intro gives a nice taste of things to come.
"From rising foreclosure rates to dismal post-tax credit reports, media headlines continue to be centered around the negativity in today's market. Real estate leaders, however, know that this is only one part of the story - that there are plenty of positive stories to share as well."
OK, sure, even in a train wreck, you can find some faux silver lining if you look hard enough. Whether anyone will believe you, though, is another matter.
The most problematic advice comes from the first panelist - let's call him Mr. X.
Mr. X advises brokers to work through their firm's advertising agency to try and influence coverage in the local newspaper.
"If you have an advertising agency that represents you, have them generate some positive public relations relative to any successes you may be having,'' he advises.
He then goes on to urge brokers to seek out a reporter or two and talk up all the good things happening in today's market, how lower prices and rock bottom prices make it a great time to buy.
With all due respect, here's a media strategy set up to fail miserably.
Most news folks - my experience is based on daily newspapers and business weeklies - can smell an advertiser-generated story idea a mile away. Beyond any mythical firewalls, newspaper ad people and reporters mentally operate on two very different planets. At some papers, there is not even a joint holiday party - and at those publications that are small enough to get everyone in the same room, the editors and reporters cluster on one side, the ad department guys and gals on the other. The difference is as basic as personality types and world views.
Sure, you might be able to force a small story into the back of the business section of your local small town daily, but at what cost to your credibility? The stink will linger for a long time after.
But the second piece of advice - find a reporter and bombard him or her with all the happy things happening in the real estate market, has got to be even worse.
No reporter at the average cash strapped newspaper, on deadline and trying to furiously pump out three or four stories, has the time or inclination to listen to a broker blather on about all the great things supposedly happening in today's real estate market. Most business reporters are bombarded all day long with self-serving pitches from professional public relations firms - and to survive they become ruthlessly adept at screening out self serving (read boring) pitches.
Stuck in ground zero of the real estate market meltdown, the second panelist, Mr. Y actually offered the sounder advice.
Basically, don't try and spin the media and work on how you deal with your clients. And he offers a second piece of pretty sensible advice - listen to the concerns of your home buyer or seller instead of launching into a canned sales presentation.
But what about this idea the media is simply too negative, whether it's reporting on the real estate market or world affairs?
Like many critiques, there is a grain of truth to this. For what it's worth, most reporters are probably more inclined to see the fly in the ointment of someone's grand sales strategy. It probably boils down to personality - with those traits reinforced by years of on the job training.
That said, it doesn't take a professional reporter to figure out the real estate market faces serious trouble right now. Buyers know it and certainly sellers do.
If nothing else, most good reporters are great bull**** detectors. Fighting bad news with happy talk is akin to throwing gas on the fire.
