Why Good News Doesn't Make Headlines: The Media Bias Behind Market Pessimism

Source: Blockworks Original Title: Friday charts: Finding good news, in spite of bad headlines Original Link: https://blockworks.co/news/friday-charts-finding-good-news-in-spite-of-bad-headlines

The Disconnect Between Reality and Headlines

“Despite what we hear on the news… the great story of our era is that we are witnessing the greatest improvement in global living standards ever to take place.” — John Norberg

2025 was a notably positive year by many metrics. Traffic deaths, drug overdoses, and suicides declined significantly, murder rates hit their largest drop on record, and healthcare advanced dramatically.

“This seems to be the first period on record when every major cause of premature death — overdose, auto accident, homicide, obesity — is falling at the same time,” observers noted.

Other improvements included rising life expectancy, peaking social media usage, and increased business dynamism. A comprehensive tally identified 1,084 positive news stories from the year: poverty declining in India, wildlife returning to the UK, and numerous other developments.

The Media’s Negativity Bias

Yet most people remain unaware of these improvements. An academic study found “a pattern of increasing negative sentiment in headlines,” with 2019 headlines 314% more likely to reflect anger, disgust, fear or sadness compared to 2000.

“We are experiencing a contagion of negativity,” warned observers, “driven by the hypercompetitive media environment, with newspapers, television stations, radio and websites presenting a highly skewed picture of the state of the world.”

The Personal vs. National Paradox

A striking Gallup poll revealed that 81% of Americans are satisfied with their personal lives, yet only 20% are satisfied with the country’s direction. “A country cannot be doing that poorly if a supermajority of its citizens are having an excellent time.”

Similarly, after examining evidence, economists concluded that “never has life been so affordable in America for so many,” yet affordability crises dominate headlines.

The Sentiment-Data Disconnect

Consumer sentiment has decoupled from real disposable income since the pandemic and never recovered. Wages have grown faster than prices for the past decade, making life objectively more affordable, yet people remain pessimistic.

Young adults show increasing disengagement from traditional life milestones like employment and parenthood — a trend potentially driven by the prevalence of negative headlines.

While restaurants and air travel have fully recovered from pandemic disruptions, the film industry and mass transit have not, reflecting broader changes in how society functions.

A Glimmer of Optimism

Recently, the world has become “surprisingly less grumpy.” Feelings of worry, stress, and anger are declining from their highs, while laughter is recovering.

Population shifts continue reshaping the world: Nigeria now has more births annually than all of Europe; Ethiopia more than the US; Afghanistan more than Japan.

In 2026, perhaps optimists will finally outnumber pessimists. Though if they do, it likely won’t make the headlines.