Amid carnage, economic or otherwise, reporters are trained to look for “glimmers of hope,” “signs that the worst is behind us” and “miraculous tales of survival,” especially those that involve a baby — or in this case, a 401(k) — somehow making it through a hurricane, tornado or mudslide.

via The Media Equation – Financial Journalists Fumble to Cover a Lasting Slump – NYTimes.com.

According to David Carr, “The problem for financial reporters (and consumers) is compounded by the failure of some of the more convenient tropes of business reporting. Many of the financial sectors’ rock stars have turned out to be the biggest fools of all. Even “Wall Street” itself is no longer a synonym for financial wisdom. So when the Street reacts poorly to the latest federal bailout package, should we care about investors’ verdict or simply assume that there weren’t enough goodies to entice their baser instincts?”

So my question is, why haven’t those reporters been working on a synthesis of established economic theory of the 20th century, largely based on “scarcity of resources” with economic principles of the “commons,” gift economies, and other aspects of “freeconomics?”