Do you speak Recession?

Posted by: Michael on: March 1, 2009

In: Public Communication
Comment!

Sinking economy

Concepts like subprime are not always easy to explain quickly to wide audiences. So, in order to convey the meaning, politicians and journalists use words like “toxic” to describe the factors causing the economic crisis. Toxic mortgages, toxic banks; credit crunch, bailout.

All of these metaphors and adjectives are loaded words. Their connotations are negative because their outcomes are, simply, negative.

A trade organization, the American Bankers Association, whose members have been targeted with such rhetoric, is eschewing a link with these epithets, explaining many of its member-banks are FDIC-insured and were not involved in the so-called toxic lending.

It bothered the ABA’s CEO so much he wrote a letter to the White House expressing concern over the President’s word usage.

(image credit: nikok)

5 Responses to "Do you speak Recession?"

1 | John Koetsier
March 1, 2009 at 10:19 pm

Here’s a great visual explanation of the mess we’re in:
http://sparkplug9.com/credit-crisis-explained-in-pictures/

2 | Scott Lansing
March 1, 2009 at 10:28 pm

Interesting concept. Loaded words are meaningless, with the exception that they’re more fun to say and easier to remember, ergo journalists use them so readers remember stories they’ve read.

What did we learn in journalism school? “If it bleeds, it leads.” A professor honestly used that in a class, granted he followed it up by saying “it’s sad, but it’s true.”

Both the former and the latter statements a related in that people remember the sad stories because they talk about it more, and papers print the sad truth because it sells more. I wonder if the changing trends in media and citizen journalism will steer writers away from using loaded words. Perhaps, but they’ll still have to decide whether to use professional terms that require more explanation, or loaded terms that leave readers with a more ingrained — not better — understanding.

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