Good news is no news, at least that seems to be the way that the mainline media approaches the task of keeping us informed about what’s happening. Journalists and broadcasters have free range to report what they like (subject of course to editorial input), so why do they always focus on what’s happening which is bad rather than telling us what’s good? Is this something they learn at college? Does the media profession attract those of a morose or gloomy disposition?
The last couple of months have been pretty much undiluted bad news with Covid-19 inevitably dominating the headlines, politics (I’m not going to go there!!), and the economy inevitably under strain because of the pandemic so I understand that bad things are happening but is there any hope for the future?
Maybe it’s a good time to reflect right now on the many blessings that we enjoy in this great country of ours. It’s been a hundred years since we last faced a major pandemic like Covid-19. It would seem that we’ve had to relearn the hard way some of the lessons from the ‘Spanish Flu’ epidemic of 1918 and any loss of life is tragic but there’s a great deal to be positive about the way we’ve responded to this pandemic.
So many people have stepped up to the plate in order to overcome Covid-19—scientists, medical professionals, care workers etc. but let’s not forget the unsung heroes who have not had the options from working from home and who have enabled all of us to live life in a relatively normal way: shop workers, restaurant/carry out food, logistics, retail stores and people delivering stuff to our home, volunteers manning food banks, the list could go on. Armed forces, police, emergency services etc.—they’ve put themselves in harm’s way so that we can stay safe. Parents managing schooling/keeping in touch with family and friends, looking after older relatives and neighbors. We’ve seen the character of our nation at its best as it had to face up to adversity.
We expect the economy to bounce back once the vaccination program is rolled out on a wide basis and life can return to some kind of normality. There’s a lot of pent-up demand and when this pent up demand is released then we’ll see hospitality, retail, leisure etc. bounce back.
And that’s when businesses will need signs to get back customers—more of this in my next blog.