I am, I confess, a news junkie.  It drives my family nuts.  If not for the advent of DVR my kids would probably be parading around the house with picket signs reading "Give us back our mother!" or "NO news is GOOD news!" 

It's not so much that I love the content of network news - more that I want to know how the media is reporting the issues and how the public appears to be receiving that news.  In fact, more often than not, I get a wee bit riled.  I find that many networks capitalize on their viewers' perverse desire for all things negative in order to drive up network ratings.

Local news presents an entirely different problem. There is none! I am a resident of Orange County, CA.  The great "OC".  Estimated population 3 million.  No local news stations? What?!!!  That's right.  Orange County residents lost their only real local news channel a month or so before 9/11 when Adelphia stopped producing OCN.  OCN wasn't a tremendous program but a least it made an attempt to keep Orange Countians in the loop.  So, we watch the LA and San Diego networks and cross our fingers that they make a token mention of anything happening within our borders. 

On the bright side, we can see what our neighbors are up to by watching the (and I use this word lightly) "reality" shows like "Real Housewives of Orange County," and MTV's "Laguna Beach".  I admit I have a problem though - watching a sixteen year old drive off in a car that I can only dream about doesn't do all that much for me. So we, in Orange County, remain essentially in the dark about most local news.

Real estate related news is no different.  The media hype pertaining to the big bubble did stall our market a bit for while and prices did decrease somewhat - but only mildly. In my immediate area the inventory was a little on the heavy side - but in reality the market was just balancing out. Where were the reports from CNN, Fox & NBC about that? All my clients heard was real estate was going to "hell in a hand-basket".  It's taking a lot of effort to undo damage inflicted on our local market by the media.  Sending market update reports for a client's immediate neighborhood as well as the city has helped tremendously, and now, of course, the media is reporting that the market has somewhat stabilized here.

I have no illusions that a major network will be coming to "The OC" anytime soon, but I am excited about the concept of Localism and what that might mean for Orange County residents. The possibilities are great and I think that as Localism becomes more and more known, the public will reap the benefits of accurate local reporting.