Chowrangi

The media is atrociously bad at putting property ads and I’m sick of it. There is no authenticity behind any of these schemes or rather I should say scams. I’m so sick and tired of commercial and domestic property ads that I could vomit. It’s absurd to see yet another “Your Heaven You Must Buy in 2007!” issue of an advertisement. I just point, laugh, and walk by whenever I see these. This is a little ironic considering I was so interested and eager to read and fathom such ads yesterday and before, but oh well.

Why do I ignore and mock the media for this; They’re often wrong, these newspapers and magazines which publish these ads are designed to sell the journalism products, not good advice. I’m not knocking the difficulty of establishing the authenticity of the ads. It’s really hard. That’s why I don’t do it, and that’s why I scoff at magazines or newspapers whose entire value proposition is to come from such ads.

The problem isn’t just being wrong, it’s not being accountable. These newspapers or magazines will literally laud a housing scheme one year and then turn around and write a negative slam piece haranguing the same scheme immediately afterwards. The flip-flopping goes on from the publication level down to the reporter level. Now, changing your mind is certainly OK but not when you don’t acknowledge that you wrote something completely opposite less than 24 months prior. You can also find a delightful lack of accountability with all the pundits who predicted a housing boom or crash.

Investing for the long term isn’t hard. Yes, it takes work, and yes, it takes some common sense. It doesn’t take the hottest tip of the month. Whatever that magazine article or newspaper ad says this year, it could literally say the opposite next year and you’d never know the difference. Take some time and do some productive and intelligent and educated research on your own.

Other posts by Commoner

• Habitual Condemnation - November 21st, 2008
• Sandwitched Population - November 21st, 2008
• Clear the Dust - November 20th, 2008
• Exactly What They Want - November 20th, 2008
• Punjab Heats Up - November 19th, 2008
• Eyeball to Eyeball - November 18th, 2008
• No Surprises There - November 18th, 2008
• Yousuf Ready to Leave "Power" - November 18th, 2008
• OGRA Website Hacked By Indian Hackers - November 17th, 2008
• Friends Of Pakistan Again Disappoints - November 17th, 2008