Where is all the good news

Is it the media's job to report the news, or to actually create the news? I get the feeling more and more that it's the latter - I feel like we're in an endless cycle of bad news begetting bad news begetting bad news - which yes, I do feel affects our day-to-day outlooks and spending habits.

This has become more evident with the reporting on the current economy. If you were to read the papers and listen to NPR, you'd get the feeling that we were in a major catastrophic recession and everyone should run to the hills now because The End is Near! Run! Ahhhhh! No, don't pack your things, just go now! Not only that but we are in an eminent global fuel shortage.

And here's where I get miffed: going home after picking up the two tots from daycare, I pass by several gas stations - and guess what? Gas prices have come down. A lot. One gas station has it posted for $3.39/gallon, and a friend told me that it's down to $3.29 a gallon in Vallejo.

$3.39 a gallon! That's about 70 cents lower than it was only three months ago, or about $8.40 savings each time you fill up a 12 gallon tank! It's almost to the levels they were about a year ago. If we ever needed a sign of recovery, I would think this would be it. And yet, I hear nothing - nothing - about this in the news at all. In fact, the media is still preaching that we're in the middle of a fuel crises.

So here we are in a recession, and yet gas prices are still dropping. The media should be all over this: "Look America, it's okay to leave your house again! You got rid of the SUV, so fill up your mid-sized sedan and take your family places! Go out to eat, go to the national parks, go to faraway lands. Visit places, spend money, be free!"