It’s an in-escapable fact…WE BELIEVE WHAT WE SEE ON TV.
I’m not sure why it is…but we do.
Maybe it’s because some very powerful, life-changing events have been transmitted on TV…riveting you to the information as it comes out…sentence by sentence.
While I wasn’t alive at the time, I’ve yet to meet someone of baby-boomer age who doesn’t remember the exact place they were when they heard about JFK’s assassination. At a shocking time in our country…it was TV that carried the news. And that’s just one small example.
I just think TV is authoritative. In the back of our minds we tell ourselves, “well if it weren’t true, it wouldn’t be on TV” – and of course I’m talking about news related programming (with over 500 channels today, there’s a lot more than just news programs!)
So what’s the big deal with having CNBC on in the background or some other kind of market-running financial TV program?
Simply this…your ‘trust mechanism’ kicks in and automatically, because it’s there broadcasting to you, you tend to believe it first, and really not ask questions about the material.
After all, how could just anyone get to be invited on TV? They MUST be experts, hell they’re on TV!
Why is it that when you surf the internet you feel more suspicious about a lot of the things you see? The real reason is because the internet DOES NOT BROADCAST anything…it’s a passive medium where YOU have to decide the content you want to see, and YOU have to be proactive in getting there.
All you do with TV is flick a switch and it’s on…controlling what you see, controlling what they want you to think!
Again, I’ll say it again…if some ‘guru’ comes on TV and tells you what stocks are good to buy..why would someone do this if it was really that good of a story!? Wouldn’t they be trying to secretly buy up as many shares as possible, if it were really that good to buy, why would they be racing out to a TV studio to spill all the beans?
In fact, could it be that they are ready to SELL their shares in the stock, and would like to sell into a bunch of willing and eager buyers (those in TV land looking for ‘tip’?) – Well, that’s exactly what has happened on many occasions!
Next time we'll look at another mistake traders and investors almost always make!
Preston James is a fulltime trader. You can get his free CD "A Magic, Little-Known Piece of News that Makes a Stock Go Higher in 3-6 Months, 86% of the Time" at www.piratesburiedtreasure.com
