Fearmongering

One reason I've nearly stopped paying attention to the mainstream media news is stories like this from CNN.com. It talks about contract negotiations and corporate restructuring by Delphi (maker of GM car parts), but does so in apocalyptic terms:

Delphi announced plans Friday to throw out its union contracts and shed more than 28,000 workers as it shut down most of its U.S. operations -- moves that could spark strikes at the auto parts maker and a possible bankruptcy filing at its biggest customer, General Motors.

Holy smokes! Sounds like a crippling blow to the American economy is coming. Even the headline is doom'n'gloom: "Delphi actions could bankrupt GM."

But of course, regular readers at Half-Bakered know to always read down into the story for the best parts, and here it is:

Even with the union's statement Friday, some experts continued to say they expect Delphi and the unions to reach a deal without a prolonged strike. Bob Schulz, the chief auto debt analyst for rating service Standard & Poor's, said he didn't see the risk of a strike at Delphi or bankruptcy at GM as necessarily any higher Friday than before the filing.

"Resolving the issue probably required starting the clock and filing with the court. It isn't that surprising that they filed the motion," he said Friday. "There are a number of reasons why we think all three parties will reach a consensual agreement. There's a lot of time before the May hearing."

So, we've had the worst case scenario presented to us, when the likelihood is that things will resolve themselves without horror, although a lot of jobs will be lost.

Doesn't seem to stop the story writer though, who plows right on, in the next paragraph:

But if there are prolonged strikes at Delphi, it would halt production at GM, a move that experts say would force the troubled automaker into bankruptcy court itself.

Sigh. And I should pay attention to this crap why?