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Description

Resource industries like oil and fishing are characterized by boom-and-bust cycles – there are “good years” and “bad years.” In communities that are highly connected to a particular resource, these economic shocks are foregrounded in the public attention. This paper compares economic indicators with media coverage over a 10-year period in Homer, Alaska. Specifically, it explores the economic shock of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and looks at how media coverage aligned to the fishery performance during the recovery years. Even as the fishery recovered to pre-spill performance in dollars, the media sentiment did not “bounce back” as quickly. The paper offers an example of how media sentiment can diverge sharply from objective indicators of economic performance, and explores the social and public policy implications of this misalignment.

Publication Date

4-15-2026

Keywords

fisheries, media, news coverage, resource economy, public sentiment

Good Resource, Bad Vibe: How well does the media reflect economic activity?

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