The media, the public and the great financial crisis

THE MEDIA, THE PUBLIC AND THE GREAT FINANCIAL CRISIS MIKE BERRY The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis Mike Berry The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis Mike Berry Cardiff University Cardiff, UK ISBN 978-1-137-49972-1    ISBN 978-1-137-49973-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-49973-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964420 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Cover illustration: Jaromir Chalabala / EyeEm / Getty Images Cover design: Tom Howey This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my colleagues at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture who provided encouragement and support during the production of this book: Stuart Allan, Cindy Carter, Stephen Cushion, Lina Dencik, Inaki Garcia-Blanco, Jenny Kidd, Kerry Moore, Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and Andrew Williams Particular thanks are due to Justin Lewis and Jenny Kitzinger who read chapter drafts and offered invaluable advice on how sections of this book could be improved I am also indebted to Glyn Mottershead and Richard Sambrook for helping to arrange interviews with journalists I would also like to thank academics at other departments who have been supportive of my work James Curran, Aeron Davis, Natalie Fenton and Des Freedman at Goldsmiths, Jen Birks, Neal Curtis, Tracey Potts and Colin Wright at Nottingham, Laura Basu at Utrecht and Emma Briant at Essex Thanks too to Nottingham University for providing the small grant that allowed me to carry out the focus group research I owe a special debt of gratitude to my former supervisor, Greg Philo at Glasgow University, for my initial research training but also for years of support, encouragement and advice I would also like to express my gratitude to the journalists and economists whose insights and specialist knowledge were very useful in the production of this book From the news media thank you to Dan Atkinson, Aditya Chakrabortty, Evan Davis, Larry Elliott, Kevin Maguire, George Pascoe-Watson, Robert Peston, Hugh Pym, Damian Reece and Kevin Schofield From the economics profession thanks to Panicos Demetriades, Michael Hudson and Howard Reed I would also like to thank Simon Wren-Lewis who has generously looked at drafts of chapters and offered v vi  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS advice on various aspects of macroeconomics I am also indebted to Karel Williams and the other academics working at CRESC at the University of Manchester whose work on finance and Britain’s economic model is cited regularly throughout the book The staff at Palgrave Macmillan have been supportive over the many years that it has taken to write this book In particular I would like to thank Heloise Harding, Martina O’Sullivan, Lucy Spinger, Lucy Batrouney, Mala SangheraWarren and Carolyn Zhang all of whom have shown remarkable fortitude, patience and good humour in the face of countless missed deadlines Some of the material in Chap appears in Mike Berry (2013) ‘The Today Programme and the Banking Crisis’, Journalism 14(2): 253–70 Chapter contains material from Mike Berry (2015) ‘The UK Press and the Deficit Debate’, Sociology, 50 (3): 542–559, and Mike Berry (2016) ‘No Alternative to Austerity: How BBC Broadcast News Reported the Deficit Debate’, Media, Culture and Society, 38 (6): 844–863 Finally I would like to dedicate this book to my partner Louise and my daughter Delilah Both have been remarkably patient and supportive through the long days and nights that it has taken to complete this book Contents 1 The Rise and Fall of British Finance  1 2 The Banking Crisis: Content Studies 23 3 The Banking Crisis: Audience Studies 95 4 The Deficit Debate: Content Studies121 5 The Deficit Debate: Audience Studies177 6 Long-term Media Socialisation and Support for Austerity203 7 The Production of GFC News229 8 Conclusions271 Index 295 vii List of Figures Fig 2.1 Fig 2.2 Fig 2.3 Fig 2.4 Fig 2.5 Fig 2.6 Fig 2.7 Fig 2.8 Fig 2.9 Fig 2.10 Fig 2.11 Fig 3.1 Fig 3.2 Fig 4.1 Attribution of responsibility for the banking crisis (percentage of articles citing top seven actors) 35 Top seven explanations for the banking crash (percentage of articles featuring each explanation) 39 Top eight sources (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each source) 44 Top six downsides of bailouts (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each downside) 49 Top six solutions (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each solution) 56 All sources sample 1: Each source as a percentage of total sources (15/9/2008–31/10/2008) 62 Attribution of responsibility for the banking crisis (number of times each actor cited) 63 Explanations for the banking crash (number of times each factor cited 6/10/2008–17/10/2008) 65 Interview sources (Sample 6/10/2008–17/10/2008) 66 Proposed reforms to the finance sector (number of times each reform was mentioned) 73 Source appearances (Sample 3—1 January 2009–31 July 2009)77 Focus group explanations for the banking crisis (number of focus groups raising each explanation) 101 Focus group reforms to the banking sector (number of focus groups mentioning each explanation) 113 Seasonally adjusted changes in mortgage equity release 1997–2011 (In Millions) (Source: Bank of England 2018) 123 ix x  List of Figures Fig 4.2 Fig 4.3 Fig 4.4 Fig 4.5 Fig 4.6 Fig 4.7 Fig 4.8 Fig 4.9 Fig 4.10 Fig 4.11 Fig 4.12 Fig 4.13 Fig 4.14 Fig 6.1 Fig 6.2 Fig 6.3 Fig 6.4 Fig 6.5 Household debt (3rd quarter data) as a percentage of income (Source: ONS data cited in TUC 2016) 124 UK public debt as a percentage of GDP 1692–2012 (Source: UK Public Spending 2018) 126 Net public debt levels 2007–2011 as a percentage of GDP (Source: OECD data cited in Webb and Bardens 2012) 127 PSNBR as a percentage of GDP 1946–2015 (Source: ONS & OBR cited in Keep 2017a) 127 An international comparison of budget deficits as percentage of GDP (Source: OECD data cited in Bardens and Webb 2012)128 UK debt interest payment as percentage of GDP (ONS and OBR data cited in Keep 2017a) 129 International debt servicing levels as a percentage of GDP (Source: OECD 2012) 130 Maturity profile (in years) of sovereign debt (Source: McKinsey Global Institute 2010) 130 Top six sources in newspaper coverage (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each source) 151 Explanation for the rise in the deficit (percentage of bulletins featuring each explanation) 153 Deficit dangers (percentage of articles featuring each danger) 158 Policy responses to the deficit (percentage of bulletins featuring each response) 161 Source appearances (percentage of bulletins featuring each source)166 Articles generated using search string ‘public sector OR public spending AND bloated OR inefficien* OR waste*’ 206 Articles generated by Nexis search string ‘non-jobs or non jobs’208 Articles generated by Nexis for search string ‘gold-plated OR gilt-edged AND public sector AND pensions’ 210 Articles generated by Nexis for search string ‘benefit cheat OR benefit fraud OR scrounger OR skiver OR welfare cheat OR welfare fraud’ 214 Articles generated by Nexis for search string ‘immigrant OR migrant OR asylum seeker AND benefits or welfare’ 218 List of Tables Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 2.5 Table 2.6 Table 2.7 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6 Table 4.7 Table 5.1 Additional actors cited (percentage of articles citing each actor)35 Additional factors cited (percentage of articles citing each actor)40 Additional sources cited (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each source) 45 Additional downsides of bailouts (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each downside) 50 Additional solutions (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each solution) 57 A Selection of positive comments on the bank bailouts 67 Reform proposals (1 January −31 July 2009) 80 UK public revenue and expenditure 2003–2010 (In £ Billions) 122 Explanations for the rise in the deficit (percentage of articles featuring each explanation) 135 Descriptions of the public finances in the press 139 International and historic comparisons of the public finances (percentage of coverage featuring each comparison) 139 Deficit dangers (percentage of articles featuring arguments and counter-arguments) 140 Solutions to the budget deficit (percentage of articles featuring each solution) 145 Additional sources cited (percentage of newspaper articles featuring each source) 151 Elements of public spending identified as being responsible for the rise in public debt (individual written responses) 178 xi 292  M BERRY Freedman, D.  J (2016) A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World Project Report Goldsmiths, University of London Available at: http://futureoftv.org.uk/report/ Accessed 15 July 2018 Freedman, D.  J., & Goblot, V (2018) A Future for Public Service Television London: Goldsmith Press Greenslade, R (2014, November 27) BBC and (Some) Newspapers are More Trusted than Politicians Guardian Available at: https://www.theguardian com/media/greenslade/2014/nov/27/bbc-and-some-newspapers-aremore-trusted-than-politicians Accessed July 2018 Greenslade, R (2016, February 11) The Brexit Drippers: How Eurosceptic Papers Wage Their Propaganda War Guardian Available at: https://www theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/feb/11/the-brexit-drippers-howeurosceptic-papers-wage-their-propaganda-war Accessed 14 July 2018 Greenslade, R (2017, January 24) Winning Back Advertisers Is Key to Saving the Newspaper Industry Guardian Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ media/greenslade/2017/jan/24/winning-back-advertisers-is-key-to-savingthe-newspaper-industry Accessed July 2018 Hind, D (2018) Owen Jones Versus the British Media Available at: https://thereturnofthepublic.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/owen-jones-vs-the-britishmedia/ Accessed July 2018 Ipsos-Mori (2016) Perceptions Are Not Reality Available at: https://www.ipsos com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/perceptions-are-not-reality Accessed July 2018 Jowett, G.  S., & O’Donnell, V.  J (2011) Propaganda & Persuasion London: Sage Ladd, J. M., & Lenz, G. S (2009) Exploiting a Rare Communication Shift to Document the Persuasive Power of the News Media American Journal of Political Science, 53(2), 394–410 Macshane, D (2015) Brexit: How Britain Left Europe London: I.B.Taurus Mattinson, D (2010) Talking to a Brick Wall London: Biteback Mayhew, F (2017, September 7) News Websites Account for Nearly Half of All Social Media ‘Engagements’ with UK Content, Analysis Shows Press Gazette Available at http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/news-websites-account-fornearly-half-of-all-social-media-engagements-with-uk-content-analysis-shows/ Accessed July 2018 Mayhew, F (2018, February 15) National Newspaper Print ABCs: Daily Star Overtakes Daily Telegraph for First Time in Over a Year + Full Figures for Jan Press Gazette Available at: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/national-newspaper-print-abcs-daily-star-overtakes-daily-telegraph-for-first-time-in-over-ayear/ Accessed July 2018 Media Reform Coalition (2018) Draft Proposals for the Future of the BBC Available at: http://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/ 03/MRC_flyer_20180312_WEB-1.pdf Accessed July 2018  CONCLUSIONS  293 Monbiot, G (2017, June 13) The Election’s Biggest Losers? Not the Tories but the Media, Who Missed the Story Guardian Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/13/election-tories-media-broadcasters-press-jeremy-corbyn Accessed July 2018 Newman, N (2011) Mainstream Media and the Distribution of News in the Age of Social Discovery Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Available from: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2017-11/ Mainstream%20media%20and%20the%20distribution%20of%20news%20 in%20the%20age%20of%20social%20discovery.pdf Accessed July 2018 Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Kalogeropoulos, A., Levy, D. A L., & Nielsen, R. K (2017) Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2017 Available at: https:// reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Digital%20News%20 Report%202017%20web_0.pdf Accessed July 2018 Newsmedia Association (2017) UK News Media Journalism Powers Social Networks Available at: http://www.newsmediauk.org/News/uk-news-mediajournalism-powers-social-networks/181674 Accessed July 2018 Newton, K., & Brynin, M (2001) The National Press and Party Voting in the UK Political Studies, 49(2), 265–285 Nielsen, R. K., & Sambrook, R (2016) What Is Happening to Television News? Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Available at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2017-06/What%20is%20 Happening%20to%20Television%20News.pdf Accessed July 2018 Norris, P., Curtice, J., Sanders, D., Scammell, M., & Semetko, H (1999) On Message: Communicating the Campaign London: Sage PAMCo (2018) Daily Multi-Platform Readership Available at: http://www2 newsworks.org.uk/readership.pptx Accessed July 2018 Philo, G (1995) Political Advertising and Public Belief Media, Culture and Society, 15, 407–418 Press Gazette (2008, February 8) January ABCs: Sun Sales Back Above Three Million Skidelsky, R (2013, November 21) Post-crash Economics: Some Common Fallacies about Austerity Guardian Available at: https://www.theguardian com/business/2013/nov/21/post-crash-economics-austerity-common-fallacies Accessed 10 July 2018 Stanley, L (2016) Legitimacy Gaps, Taxpayer Conflict, and the Politics of Austerity in the UK The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18(2), 389–406 Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J. (2008) Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/ eurostat/documents/118025/118123/Fitoussi+Commission+report Accessed 10 July 2018 Index1 A ABN Amro, 25, 27, 39, 101, 103 Adam Smith Institute, 8, 151, 152, 251 Agenda setting power of media, 96 press setting agenda for broadcast news, 251–252 Alliance and Leicester, 12 American International Group, 13 Anglo-Irish Bank, 13 Applegarth, Adam, 41, 63 Ashcroft, Michael, 197 Association of British Insurers, 59 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 45 Atkinson, Dan, v, 231, 232, 236, 237, 241, 243, 244 Audience studies composition of participants in focus groups, 99 concerns over decline of manufacturing, 110–112 difficulties in understanding reporting of banking crisis, 104–105, 115 distrust of reporting of banking crisis, 105, 115 interest in financial news, 114, 115 knowledge and attitudes towards bank reform, 113–114 media consumption patterns of participants in focus groups, 100 perceptions of what caused the rise in the public deficit, 177–186 perceptions of who and what caused banking crisis, 100–103 understanding and views towards policies to reduce the deficit, 186–199 use of other information sources to understand banking crisis, 105 views on bank bailouts and part-­ nationalisations, 106–110, 112 Audit Commission, 151  Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes © The Author(s) 2019 M Berry, The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-49973-8 295 296  INDEX Auditors (Big Four) contribution to the banking crisis, 27 media reporting of as cause of banking crisis, 35, 38 public awareness of as factor in crisis, 100 regulation of as response to banking crisis, 31 role as news source, 165 Auf Weidersein Pet, 215 Austerity as contributing to political polarisation, xiv economists endorsing, 261, 278 expansionary version, 133 IFS endorsing, 147, 152, 163–164, 258 IMF views on, 283 journalists’ views on, 234–241, 243–244, 257–261, 277–278 Labour divided on, 241, 244 media reporting of, xv, xvii, 145–150, 156, 160–165, 168–169 public attitudes towards, 186–192, 196–199, 221–224 B Balls, Ed, 240, 241, 244, 260 Bankers blamed by media for banking crisis, 35–37, 40–41, 43, 58, 62–64, 231–233, 237–239, 272, 274 bonuses, xvi, 30, 36, 37, 41–42, 50, 56–59, 65, 73, 79–80, 83, 87, 101, 108, 112, 113, 116, 135, 178, 272–275 contribution to Britain’s economy/ tax base, 76, 82–84 lobbying by, 9–11, 14, 59, 246–247 public views on contribution to banking crisis, 100–101, 109 role as news sources, 15, 44, 61–63, 66, 67, 74, 77, 82, 84, 111, 141, 151, 164, 166, 168, 169, 242, 251, 254, 255, 258–261, 264, 265, 274, 278 role in post-crisis regulation, 60, 81, 85–86 Banking crisis causes of, 25–28 media identifying culpable parties for, 34–39, 62–64 media reporting of causes of, 39–43, 65 media reporting of reforms, 55–61, 73–76, 79–84 media sourcing in reporting of, 43–46, 61–63, 65–69, 72–75, 77–78, 82–84, 111–112, 272–274, 283, 286 public difficulties in understanding reporting of, 104–105, 115 public distrust of reporting of, 105, 115 public perceptions of who and what caused, 100–103 public’s use of other information sources to understand, 105 public understanding of and attitudes towards reforms of, 113–114 public views on bank bailouts and part-nationalisations, 106–110, 112 reforms to, 30–31 timeline of, 11–13 Bank nationalisations alternatives to, 28–29 journalists views on, 71, 72, 235, 238, 262–263  INDEX  media criticism of option of full nationalisations, 50–52, 67–69, 71, 72, 78, 79 media reporting of alternatives to, 53–55, 61, 69–70, 78–79 media reporting of costs of, 46–48 media reporting of downsides of, 49–52, 67, 70, 72 media reporting of part-­ nationalisations as representing only or good option, xvi, xvii, 52–53, 66–67, 71, 72, 272–273, 279 Northern Rock, 12 public perceptions of bailouts and part-nationalisations, 106–110, 116, 275 Bank of England executives from as news sources, 40, 45, 57, 138, 142, 151, 152, 154, 156, 157, 159–161, 166, 167, 251, 254, 255, 278, 283 research on post crisis reform conducted by, 31 role in bank bailouts, 12, 23–24 role in post-crisis regulation, 58, 59, 73, 113 Bannatyne, Duncan, 149, 151 Barber, Brendan, 137, 148, 149 Barclays bank, 75 Barings bank, 10 Barrell, Ray, 144 Basel III Accords, 30 Bear Stearns, 11, 12 Benefit spending media reporting of, 182, 214–215 public view as contributing to the rise in the budget deficit, 178, 181–183, 185, 186, 199 public view on reduction as way to cut deficit, 187, 221 research on Labour record on, 224n2 297 Benn, Tony, 54 Big Bang financial deregulation, 2, 42, 247, 283 Blair, Tony, 149, 206, 234, 239, 244 Blanchflower, David, 151, 152 BNP Paribus collapse of investment funds owned by, 11 executives from as news sources, 159 Bradford and Bingley, 13, 25, 54, 62, 68, 77 Breaking up large banks (as reform to financial system) advocacy of, 30 media reporting of as possible reform, 56, 57, 59, 60, 80–82, 84, 86 public awareness of as a reform option, 113 Breaking Views, 66 Brexit, xv, 216, 248, 250, 265, 286, 287 Bridcup Report, 283 British Bankers’ Association, 45, 46, 59, 77, 82 British Chamber of Commerce, 45, 66, 152 British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, 11 Brugel (think tank), 77 Brummer, Alex, 41 Budget (April 2009), 146, 149, 154, 158, 163, 164 Buik, David, 2, 67 Building Societies Association, 45 Burnham, Andy, 162 C Cable, Vince, 78, 81, 83, 84, 273 Cameron, David, 141, 156, 208 298  INDEX Capital controls abolition of, calls for reinstatement, 31 Capital ratios/buffers, 30, 40, 50, 56–58, 60, 65, 79, 80 Centre for Economics and Business Research, 45 Centre for Market and Public Organisation, 182–183 Centre for Policy Studies, Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, vi, 9, 284 Chakrabortty, Aditya, v, 229, 230, 248, 252, 253, 255, 257, 261, 264–266, 272 Chote, Robert, 147 Christensen, John, 78 Circuit of communication, xiv, 13–14, 32, 271 City of London Corporation, 11 Clegg, Nick, 67, 164, 279 Collateralised debt obligation squared, 230 Community Savings Banks Association, 45 Compass, 133 Complexity cited by media as cause of banking crisis, 40, 42, 65, 80 as factor in banking crisis, 25–26 Confederation of British Industry, 45, 61, 62, 66, 67, 77, 83, 151, 152, 166, 167, 251, 263 Congdon, Tim, 78 Connor, Stuart, 212 Consensus in BBC economic reporting, 254–257, 278 Conservative party campaigning against public sector workers, 211 economic messaging in the 1980s, 15, 235, 289 economic policies in the 1980s, 1–3, 7–9, 14–15, 60 fiscal record, 126–128, 154 funding from finance sector, 14 representation as media sources, 44, 64, 66, 141, 143, 150, 151, 156–159, 165–166, 169, 277 seen as party most likely to get value for money in public spending, 205 views on bank bailouts, 67 views on banking regulation, 59 views on deficit reduction, 137, 141, 143, 146, 156, 158, 159, 169, 196–197, 240–241, 244, 258, 260, 278, 279 Cooper, George, 65 Coppola, Frances, 283 Cox, George, 62, 63, 67, 68, 77, 284 Credit default swap, 4, 16n1, 42, 75, 84, 104, 282 Credit ratings agencies cited by media as cause of crisis, 39, 63, 65 as factor in banking crisis, 27 presence as news source, 131, 151, 159 regulation of as necessary reform, 31 Credit Suisse First Boston, 265 Cridland, John, 67 Crouch, Colin, 7–9 D Dacre, Paul, 37, 236, 241 Darling, Alistair, 23, 52, 53, 58, 70, 78, 79, 146, 150, 153, 162, 208, 238–241 Davies, Howard, 50, 67, 78 Davis, Aeron, v, 275, 285 Davis, Evan, v, 243, 249–252, 254–256, 259, 260, 262, 263, 265  INDEX  Debt (Household) calls to restrict to prevent future crisis, 31 as factor in banking crisis, 28, 38–42, 54, 102–103 as factor in slow recovery, 124–125, 138, 168 as key motor of economic growth, 5–9, 86 public views on expansion of, 101–103 Debt Management Office, 151 Debt (Public) costs of servicing in historical and international contexts, 128–129 maturity profile importance of, 126, 283, 284 maturity profile in historical and international contexts, 129–130 maturity profile reporting of, 155, 168 media reporting of, 135–144, 148, 154, 155, 158–160, 163, 164, 168–169 scale in historical and international contexts, 126–127 Deficit (Public) causes of rise in, 122–125 debate over responses, 130–133 IFS views on, 163, 164, 166–167, 169, 258–259 journalists’ views on, 234–239, 246, 257–261, 284 Labour divided on response to, 241, 244 media reporting of causes of rise in, xv, xvii, 135–138, 152–155, 168 media reporting of responses to, 144–150, 161–165, 169 media reporting of size and consequences of, 136–144, 155–161, 168–169 299 media sourcing in reporting of, 137, 146, 150–152, 154, 156, 159, 162, 164–169, 278, 284 public attitudes towards responses to, 186–199 public understanding of rise in, 177–186 scale in historical and international contexts, 127–128, 276 Demetriades, Panicos, v, 261 Deregulation of finance sector as cause of crisis, 28 cited by public as cause of crisis, 101 cited in media as cause of crisis, 39, 40, 42, 65 history, 1–3, 8, 11 Derivatives calls for tighter regulation of, 30, 56–58, 83–84 cited by media as cause of banking crisis, 39, 42, 65, 80 growth of markets in, 3–4 public awareness of, 101, 103, 104, 113, 115 role in system of privatised Keynesianism, xvi, 8–9 taxing trade in, 133 Dinan, Will, 13–14 Dolphin, Tony, Duncan Smith, Ian, 187 E Eagle, Angela, 137, 153 Economics profession as a closed profession with little tolerance of heterodox voices, 261 criticism of for not opposing austerity, 261, 278 criticism of for not warning of banking crisis, 10, 26 300  INDEX Economics profession (cont.) criticism of neoclassical economics, 261, 284 journalists’ views of left/right distinctions in, 262 lack of representation of in news, 45, 66 The Economist magazine, 64, 66 Efficient Markets Hypothesis, 27 El Diwany, Tarek, 78 Elliott, Larry, v, 42, 55, 57, 229, 230, 234, 241–247, 284 European Council, 151 European Union negative reporting of, 183–184 public perception of as contributing to deficit, 184, 203 F Fabians, 284 Fanny Mae, 12 Federation of Small Business, 45 Financialisation of circuit of communication, 13–16 of UK economy, xvi, 1–9, 84 Financial Services Authority blamed by media as culpable for banking crisis, 35, 41, 44, 59, 63, 64, 81 capture of by finance sector, 10, 14, 60 executives from as news sources, 62, 67–68 failure of as cause of the banking crisis, 26 public perception of as being part of solution to crisis, 113 public perception of as contributing to crisis, 100 research on post crisis reform conduced by, 31 role in bank bailouts, 12, 24 Financial Times, 66 Financial Transactions Tax, 30, 57, 133, 192, 193 Fishman, Mark, 43 Flanders, Stephanie, 157, 260, 261 Fortis, 13 Freddie Mac, 12 Fuld, Richard, 74, 85 G Gavin, Neil, 96 Geoghegan, Michael, 50, 52 Gilt strike journalists’ views on, 257–258 perspective that one was possible perspective that one was unlikely, 131, 159 reporting of threats of, 137, 141–143, 158, 159, 276, 277 Glass-Steagall Act, 2, 26, 58, 84 Goldman Sachs, 16n1 Goodwin, Fred, xiii, xv, 36, 52, 63, 85, 87, 232 Gould, Bryan, 60 Greed/risk taking media citing of as factor in banking crisis, 39–41, 43, 64, 65, 87, 272 public perception of as factor in banking crisis, 101, 102, 110 as useful hook or explanatory device in tabloid news stories, 231, 232 Green, Andrew, 219 Green, Stephen, 81 H Hahn, Peter, 78, 79 Halifax Bank of Scotland, 13, 24, 46  INDEX  Halligan, Liam, 67 Happer, Catherine, 16 Hastings, Max, 36, 64 Hedge funds arguments in favour of more regulation of, 30, 58 media citing as factor in banking crisis, 46, 63, 64 media citing need to regulate more tightly, 73, 74, 80 media narrative stressing contribution to UK economy, 76, 246 Heffer, Simon, 51 Hester, Steven, 58–59 Heterodox economists absence from news accounts, 167 marginalisation with economics profession, 261 Hills, John, 213 Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 50, 52, 81, 243, 253 Horton, Tim, 215 Housing equity release, 5, 123 Hudson, Michael, v, 261 Hutton, Will, 2, 57, 60, 75, 82, 111, 165, 256–257, 264, 284 I Iceland, 100 Immigration and asylum contribution to growth/tax base, 204, 285, 288 media reporting of, 48–49, 147–148, 216–223, 233–234, 255, 279 public perception of as key factor in rise of deficit, xvii, 178–181, 186, 191–192, 199, 203–204, 221–223, 279 301 research on fiscal impact of, 224n3 Inequality cited by media as factor in banking crisis, 40, 42 as factor in banking crisis, 31 inability of journalists to recognise and report on, 265, 286 need to include as reported statistical indicator, 288 need to reduce to create financial stability, 31 Inland Revenue, 151 Inman, Philip, 242 Institute for Fiscal Studies criticism of, 166–167, 258–259 journalists’ views on robustness of, 166, 258 as news source, 45, 147, 151, 152, 157, 163, 164, 166, 169, 183, 278, 283 Institute for Public Policy Research, 3, 86, 151 Institute of Directors, 8, 45, 46, 62, 151, 152, 284 Institute of Economic Affairs, 8, 69, 210 International Institute for Strategic Studies, 164, 166 International Monetary Fund, 6, 26, 30, 31, 55, 57, 126, 131, 132, 140–142, 151, 152, 166, 167, 245, 255, 273, 276, 278, 283 J The Jeremy Kyle Show, 215 Johnson, Paul, 167 Jones, Digby, 76 Jones, Owen, 215 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 183 JP Morgan Chase, 12 302  INDEX K Keen, Steve, 28, 284 Kellner, Peter, 221 Kerveil, Jérôme, 102 Kes, 215 Keynes/Keynesianism, 7, 8, 30, 60, 160, 167, 234, 245, 258–260, 275, 277, 283, 287 Killop, Tom, 23 King, Mervyn, 23, 25, 138, 156, 157, 245, 276, 277 Kitzinger, Jenny, v, 116n1 Knight, Angela, 78, 81–83 Koo, Richard, 125, 131 Krugman, Paul, 38, 45 L Labour party blamed by media for banking crisis, 37–38, 41–43, 45, 240 blamed by media for deficit, 135–137, 154–155, 235, 238–239 capture by City interests, 14, 26, 244–247, 274 criticised by media for ‘wasteful’ spending, 48–49, 52, 204–212 damage to from reporting, xv, 290 divisions over austerity, 240–241, 244, 278 economic policies, xvi, 5–6, 8–11, 86, 122, 148, 153, 223, 240–241 fiscal record, 126–130, 135 policies on welfare, 212–213, 222 praised by media for role in banking crisis, 38, 45 public views on contribution to deficit, 178–186, 189–190, 196–198, 203, 221–223, 278 relationship to News International, 241, 289 strategic communication priorities of, 288–290 Lambert, Richard, 83 Lamont, Norman, 68 Land Value Tax media reporting of as way to cut deficit, 150 media reporting of as way to prevent financial crises, 57 public attitudes towards, 192–195 public knowledge of, 192 Lea, Ruth, 158 Leckie, Bill, 51 Leeson, Nick, 102 Lehman Brothers, 12–13, 34, 61, 74, 75, 256 Leverage (Bank) as contributing to growth and profitability, as key factor in bank failures, 25 Lewis, Justin, v, 98 Liberal Democrats, 44, 66, 151, 152, 196 Lilico, Andrew, 28 Little Britain, 215 Livingstone, Ken, 54, 55, 61 Lloyds TSB, 4, 36, 60, 86 Lucas, Robert, 86 M Mackinnon, Neil, 67 MacLeod, John, 53–54 Magnus, George, 78 Maguire, Kevin, v, 230–233, 239, 244, 246, 248 Mandelson, Peter, 240, 241, 288 Mason, Paul, xiii, 267n1 Mattinson, Deborah, 98, 289 McBride, Damian, 24 McCoist, Ally, 195 McDonnell, John, 29, 54, 253, 284 McFall, John, 78  INDEX  McQuail, Dennis, 95, 97 Meacher, Michael, 81–83 Media influence/effects, 95–98, 278–282 Merrill Lynch, 13 Methodology, 31–34, 98–100, 133–134, 229–230 Migrationwatch, 219 Millennium Dome, 190 Miller, David, 13–14 Mills, Tom, 15 Milne, Seamus, 54 Minford, Patrick, 64, 284 Mody, Ashoka, 273 Monbiot, George, 286–287 Money markets public understanding of importance in crisis, 101, 103, 115 seizing up as factor in banking crisis, 12, 25, 40, 57 Morley, Ian, 64, 74, 76 Morning Star, 67 Morris, James, 219 Moulton, John, 62, 77 Murdoch, Rupert, 241 Murphy, Richard, 54, 57 Myners, Paul, 29, 57 N National Health Service, 98, 110, 145, 146, 184, 187, 190, 206, 207, 217, 220, 222, 223n1, 225, 233 National Institute of Economic and Social Research, 151, 166 Neild, Robert, 138 Nelson, Fraser, 78, 83 New Century Financial, xvi, 11 New Economics Foundation, 45, 46, 181, 264 New Right, 51, 205, 245, 278 News International, 289 303 News production (factors structuring broadcasting accounts) agenda setting, the ‘conversation’ and political pressure, 251–253 organisational structure, location and recruitment policies, 264–266 perceptions of audience and unprecedented nature of crisis, 248–250 sourcing, the ‘consensus’ and weakness of left counter-­ narratives, 254–264, 274 News production (factors structuring press accounts) complexity, comprehension and servicing the audience, 230–234, 273–274 groupthink, institutional capture, speed, geography and reactive journalism, 245–248 ideology, 234–239, 274, 277 Labour’s rightwards turn and weakness of civil society, 244–245, 274 political partisanship and personal relationships, 239–242, 274, 277 sourcing, advertising and morality, 242–244, 274 NICE decade, 246, 286 Nicholson, Viv, 155 ‘Non-jobs’ in public sector, 48, 184, 186, 208–209, 278 Northern Rock, 12, 27, 41, 54, 63, 82, 86, 102, 103, 231, 256 O Obama, Barack, 83, 240 Oborne, Peter, 52, 243 Office for National Statistics, 136, 151, 251 304  INDEX The Only Way is Essex, 215 Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, 26, 123, 132, 151, 157, 161, 166, 167, 255, 278 ‘Originate and distribute’ model, 25 Osborne, George, 279 P Paphatis, Theo, 164–165 Pascoe-Watson, George, v, 230, 233, 237, 238, 241 Paulson, Hank, 13, 72 Peston, Robert, v, 72, 74, 166, 230, 243, 249, 251–253, 256, 259, 287 Pettifor, Ann, 28, 284 Phillips, Trevor, 219 Philo, Greg, v, 13, 15, 97, 288 Pissarides, Chris, 261 Plaid Cymru, 64 Policy Exchange, 151, 152 Positive Money, 81 Post-crisis banking regulation, 84–86 Pratley, Nils, 230 Price, Lance, 241 Privatisation, 14, 15, 110, 235, 263 Privatised Keynesianism, xvi, 7–9 Public relations as factor structuring news accounts, 266 Labour party reliance on, 289 role in lobbying by the City, 11 role in 1980s privatisation programme, 14 Public sector pensions negative reporting of, 49, 147, 208–210, 276, 278 public beliefs they had contributed to deficit, 184–186 public belief they should be reduced to close deficit, 187, 188, 204 Public sector waste and inefficiency journalists’ views on, 238–239 media accusations of, 48, 51, 52, 204–209, 211, 221, 276, 278 public belief it should be reduced to close deficit, 189, 211, 221, 278 public views on, xvii, 184–186, 189, 190, 203, 204, 221, 222, 278 research on levels of, 224n3 Pym, Hugh, v, 230, 249, 254, 256–259 Q Quangos media reporting scrapping of as way to reduce deficit, 145 negative reporting of, 183–184, 208 public perception of as contributing to deficit, 178, 186 public perception of as indicating inefficiency of state sector, 109 public perception that scrapping of could reduce deficit, 187 Quantitative easing, xiv, 104, 142, 170n4 Quants, 4, 35, 39 R Rand, Ayn, 51 Rational Expectations Hypothesis, 27 Redwood, John, 67 Reece, Damian, v, 229, 234, 235, 240, 242 Reed, Howard, v Regulation, see Financial Services Authority  INDEX  Resolution Foundation, 45, 251 Respect Party, 45 Revolving door between politics, banks and regulatory sphere, 26, 31, 82 Ringfencing bank’s ‘casino’ operations/New Glass-Steagall media reporting as potential reform, 58, 59, 73, 80, 84, 257 as potential reform, 30 Roberts, Chris, 212 Rodger, John, 213 Royal Bank of Scotland, xiii, 23–25, 27, 36, 39, 46–49, 52, 59, 63, 82, 86, 103, 136, 240, 253 S Sage, Daniel, 212 Santander, 12, 13 Sarkozy, Nicholas, 74 Scargill, Arthur, 79 Schofield, Kevin, v, 230, 232, 239, 240 Schumpeter, Joseph, 28 Scottish Nationalist Party, 44, 45, 151, 157, 166 Securitisation, 3, 11, 12, 26, 30 Selby, Peter, 78, 81 Sen, Amartya, 288 Shadow banking system as factor in banking crisis, 26 increased regulation of as post-crisis reform, 30 media reporting of increased regulation of, 56, 73, 80 media reporting of role in banking crisis, 74 Shameless, 214 Shareholder value as dominant model of banking, 6, 87 305 as factor in banking crisis, 27 maximisation of as model for running part-nationalised banks, 27, 86 Shearer, Tony, 59–60 Smaghi, Lorenzo, 28 Smith, Terry, 74, 77 Sourcing financialisation of in news coverage, 13–15, 285 journalists’ views on, 242–243, 248, 251–256, 258–261, 263, 264, 266 in media coverage of banking crisis, 43–46, 61–63, 65–69, 72–75, 77–78, 82–84, 111–112, 272–274, 283, 286 in media coverage of deficit, 137, 146, 150–152, 154, 156, 159, 162, 164–169, 278, 284 public views on, 105, 115 Sparks, Colin, 267 Stanley, Liam, 177, 180, 198, 244 Stiglitz, Joe, 30, 70, 288 Subprime lending, 11, 39, 42, 65, 101, 230, 231 Swedish bank rescues (1992), 29, 54 T Tax avoidance/evasion clamping down on as response to banking crisis, 30 clamping down on as way to help close deficit, 133 media afraid to report for fear it would hit advertising revenue, 234 media reporting of need to address as response to banking crisis, 56, 57, 78, 80–82, 84 306  INDEX Tax avoidance/evasion (cont.) media reporting of need to reduce to help close deficit, 145, 150, 169 media reporting on as factor in banking crisis, 40, 46 media reporting that rise in tax rates would encourage, 149, 164–165 media reporting that significant sums cannot be raised by clamping down on, 167 public perception that rich would employ if taxes were raised, 195 role in banking crisis, Tax havens awareness of in focus groups, 195 regulation of as response to banking crisis, 30, 46, 56, 57, 80, 84, 169 role in banking crisis, 4, 40, 42, 45, 46 Tax Justice Network, 45, 46, 78 Taxpayers’ Alliance, 45, 151, 152, 208 Taylor, Martin, 75 Tett, Gillian, 78 Thatcher, Margaret blamed for banking crisis, 35, 39–41 economic messaging of in 1980s, 288–289 fiscal record of, 126, 128 Labour accused of continuing policies of, 244, 284 praised as unleashing enterprise economy, 51–52 reliance on debt as engine of growth, role in liberalisation of finance and economy, 2–3 views on free market endorsed by journalist, 71 Timms, Stephen, 78 Toxic debt, 13, 16n1, 25, 27, 39, 40, 42, 65, 101, 136 Toynbee, Polly, 41, 42, 56, 85 Trade imbalances as factor in banking crisis, 28 media reporting of as factor in banking crisis, 40, 42, 65 media reporting of need to address as part of reform process, 80 need to address as part of reform process, 30 Trade unions appearances as news sources, 44–46, 62, 66, 78, 137, 148–149, 151, 152, 167 disappearance of as news sources since 1980s, 15, 112, 274, 285 journalists’ views on their importance and media strategy, 251, 263, 264 membership of as predictor of political views, 221 views on Britain’s economic problems in 1970s, 32 Traynor, Jill, 230, 242 Treasury calls for austerity by, 160, 163 criticism of in relation to finance sector, 60 role as news sources, 242, 251, 252, 254, 278, 283, 285 role in post-crisis control of part-nationalised banks, 86 role of officials in bank bailouts, 24 Tripartite Authority, 12, 59, 240 Trump, Donald, xiv, 257 Tuchman, Gaye, 44 Turner, Adair, 26, 29, 58, 61, 257 Turner, Graham, 31, 142, 284 Turner Report, 58 Tyler, Imogen, 215  INDEX  U UBS group, 13 United Kingdom Financial Investments, 28, 60, 81, 86, 242 United Kingdom Shareholder’s Association, 45 W Wachovia, 13 Warburton, Peter, 69 Warner, Jeremy, 59 Washington Mutual, 13 Wattret, Ken, 159 Wedel, Janine, 14 Weeks, John, 167 White, Michael, 50–51 White Paper on financial reform (2009), 33, 58, 59, 61, 81, 85, 257 307 Whiting, John, 165 Wogan, Terry, 195 Work Foundation, 165, 166 Wren-Lewis, Simon, v, 122, 168–169, 259–261 Y Young, Hugo, 241 Z Zero Lower Bound, 154, 156, 157, 163, 167, 170n4 Zoellick, Robert, 55 Zombie banks, 29, 87n1 .. .The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis Mike Berry The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis Mike Berry Cardiff University Cardiff,... of finance was the decision by the Conservative government to progressively remove the regulations © The Author(s) 2019 M Berry, The Media, the Public and the Great Financial Crisis, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-49973-8_1... stages of the GFC as the banking crisis and subsequent recession led to a rise in public debt and deficits Media narratives about the dangers of public debt and deficits helped create public support