Newsfiltered: A Big National Story That's A Lot of Big Local Stories

January 4, 2008 4:53 PM

Yes, the Subprime Mortgage Crisis was 2007's top national business news story for the second year in a row (and odds on favorite to Threepeat), #2 news story overall (TIME put Pakistan at #1, for AP, it was the Virginia State Massacre). But then I saw that it was the #1 local news story in my town.

We know it hit some areas harder than others, like Bend, Oregon, Trenton, New Jersey and Jerusalem?!? If local newspapers notice it more, it may be because it's hurting local newspapers. In Ohio and Michigan, they didn't need the Subprime Loan problems to have a crisis. And it's so bad in Stockton, California, that the BBC took notice. But London is having its own troubles.
But the most interesting local story of all involves tracing the crisis to its source: Orange County, California

posted by wendell (14 comments total)

Of course, the Mortgage Crisis story floats up toward the top in areas that haven't had Massacres or Massive Wildfires or 100-Year Droughts. In my neighborhood, it was competing with the County Sheriff's secret tapes, a town that can't get a sewer built (they can't get their shit together), another town that said NO to WalMart (they do have their shit together) and a world-class track star who looks like a kid, NOT a hottie.
posted by wendell at 4:54 PM on January 4

LocalNewsFilter, wendell? Really?

That said, the Los Osos serwer debacle has been going on in some form or other for decades. I'm surprised it's news. I'm also kinda surprised Josh Holgate's shooting death didn't make the top 10, but I'm biased 'cause I knew him back in the day.
posted by lekvar at 5:06 PM on January 4

Such and such was 2007's top news story.
For the second year in a row.
2007's top news story.
For the second year in a row.

Hmm.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 5:08 PM on January 4

As DeGaulle once said: "Brazil is the big issue for the next 10 years -- and always will be."
posted by Avenger at 5:21 PM on January 4

lekvar writes "LocalNewsFilter, wendell? Really?"

I think it's a great angle. One of the unique and powerful features of the web is that it allows interested users to easily aggregate items of local interest from a wide variety of locales. Which is exactly what wendell has done for us here. Imagine how hard this kind of comparative analysis would have been pre-web, when even the best library would stock only a couple dozen local newspapers.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:22 PM on January 4

Should probably point out it was Virginia Tech, not state.
posted by kiltedtaco at 5:34 PM on January 4

Virginia State? As a Hokie, I take offense.
posted by TheJoven at 6:11 PM on January 4

As a Cavalier, I say right on.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 7:06 PM on January 4

all involves tracing the crisis to its source: Orange County, California

It all went down hill when that kid from Chino got adopted into that nice Jewish family who lived next to the hotties.
posted by thanotopsis at 7:20 PM on January 4

Yeah, Ryan took on astronomical loans which he had no hope of repaying, and for once, Sandy refused to bail him out.

Curse you Mr Cohen! Curse you!
posted by djgh at 7:32 PM on January 4

California!
Here we come!
posted by obloquy at 2:32 AM on January 5

London is having its own troubles.

It's a mark of how messed up things have become when - in the attached article - regions that are "losers" are those that have seen a rise of only 10% in house prices. Meanwhile, other parts of London have seen rises of 23%. Some other parts of England have seen falls, albeit relatively small ones (1-3%). This speaks towards how wedded we have become to the idea of investing in housing, and how divorced from reality we are by expecting it to go up forever.
posted by outlier at 2:44 AM on January 5

Well, if prices drop by 50% - to where they were when we purchased our house only six years ago - then my wife and I will be able to buy a bigger house, and my brother might be able to afford a flat, so our fingers are crossed!

Either that our we murder our parents to realise their capital assets. This is a joke.
posted by alasdair at 4:29 AM on January 5

The top story of 2008 will be financial experts finally realizing the the mortgage crisis is actually a symptom of a larger underlying economic erosion throughout the middle class.
Much hand-wringing and declarations that americans should save more will result, utterly ignoring that the Titanic that was once the American middle class is about to slip beneath the waves, dragging the rich folks in the golden life boats along with it.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:35 AM on January 5