The #1 radio news channel in New York City is 1010 WINS (which is owned by the giant CBS Corp which is in turn controlled by billionaire media magnate Sumner Redstone). I've listened routinely to this news station (mostly for weather updates, traffic/public transportation updates, stock market and business news updates, reporting on some main stories, and on rare occasion, sports) for more than 30 years. In all those years, this station reported on gold (that I heard) no more than about half a dozen times, I kid you not. And those few reports were very brief. Today, in the business reporting, the station finally mentioned about gold and how investors are becoming increasingly sour on the metal. The reporting mentioned, in brief, the recent news about Russia reducing its holdings of gold: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...-for-first-time-in-a-year-as-prices-drop.html I sometimes don't know what to make of the main stream media reporting on investment assets like the precious metals. Now that I myself view precious metals as an asset worth having some of, I am left wondering why the main stream media here reports so infrequently on or about it. Is it because precious metals are really inconsequential to the vast majority of investors or is it something else...I haven't quite figured that out. In your country, does the main stream media report on precious metals at all? If yes, how (in)frequently? How do they portray precious metals? .
I received a news item today predicting gold is about to surge based on forecasted Chinese buyers and also that some of the world's fiscal woes are sorting themselves out. Check the stock markets to see this happening. Seems as if there is more confidence and there are massive amounts of cash stacked in wealthier people's pockets and not invested.
Our mainstream reporting is generally limited to the price. Most channels state this in their daily financial roundup on commodities (oil and gold) and exchange rates.
Mainstream media gets its revenue from advertising. In the investment niche of the market, the big spenders on advertising are Real Estate, Financial Services (Banks) and Brokerage Houses. It is not in these advertisers best interests for potential clients to be locking up their capital in Gold when they could be paying commissions and brokerage fees to them. To keep their 'bread & butter' clients happy, mainstream media outlets will often read 'fluff pieces' written by the clients under the guise of editorial comment. Here in Australia it came to a head in the "Cash for Comment Affair" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_for_comment_affair ...they now have to disclose if the following expression piece is opinion or paid 'advertorial'
