It is no secret that the real estate industry has an ambivalent relationship with the news media. On the one hand, real estate agents and real estate companies spend substantial amounts of money placing advertising in various news media. This remains true even in the face of a significant shift of advertising efforts to the Web.

On the other hand, many real estate people view the media as being close to adversaries because of what they perceive as a constant negative spin on stories about the real estate market and the real estate industry. No one denies that the market has its downs as well as its ups, but more than a few real estate professionals feel that the news media is as much a cause of consumer gloom as it is a reporter of it.

This is an old story, of course, but recent market conditions have certainly exacerbated the problem. To many people in the business -- especially those who are of the eternally optimistic salesman nature -- it has seemed as if there might be nation-wide contests to see who can provide the grimmest portrayal of the real estate scene.

This time, though, national, state, and local Realtor® associations are taking organized and active steps to provide some balance to the news and to correct and/or counteract some of the negative spin that goes beyond straightforward reporting. No one denies that there is, as it were, bad news out there; but there is good news too. Some of that good news should reach the public as well.

Early this year the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) introduced the "Surround Sound" campaign, aiming to counteract the barrage of negative messages with an effort to "surround consumers with messages about the opportunities currently available to them in today's housing markets." The campaign reaches out to state and local associations, providing them with materials and showing them ways in which they can both reach the public (e.g. by giving updates to local chambers of commerce and service clubs such as Rotary) and how they can best interact with media representatives. As part of the campaign, NAR is conducting day-long training sessions for local Realtor® association staff and leadership.

At a state level the California Association of Realtors® (CAR), noting that "Consumers are flooded with negative stories and images on the airwaves, in newspapers, and on the Web," launched an initiative "to combat this onslaught". Since the beginning of the year CAR has provided its members with email advisories and a weekly "Market Matters" newsletter. The newsletter takes recent stories (reports on sales volume, median prices, foreclosure activity, etc.) and provides analysis that helps to put the facts in perspective and that shows what the news can mean to consumers.

Local Realtor® associations such as the one to which I belong -- the Orange County Association of Realtors® (OCAR) -- have established programs, committees, and work groups to "get the word out" at the local level – where it counts – regarding some of the good things about market conditions. OCAR, for example, established a media task force. Members attended one of the day-long training sessions conducted by NAR's "Surround Sound" experts.

Members were shown how distinctly local market data is liable to differ significantly from reported trends and occurrences at the state and national level. They were also informed about various ways in which that local news can be effectively disseminated. Moreover, OCAR members are being encouraged to submit human interest stories about some of the (many) good things that are going on in the market place. (It should be noted that they are also seeking out human interest stories about some of the virtually outrageous things -- such as lender indifference -- that serve to prolong and intensify the real difficulties that exist.)

Finally, similar to the CAR "Market Matters" initiative, OCAR will establish an "Other Side of the Story" program where members will be encouraged to provide corrections and different perspectives to portrayals of the local market that may be inaccurate or negatively distorted.

None of the initiatives discussed here are premised on the claim that there is no bad news and that nothing unpleasant or unfortunate is happening. They just aim to keep matters in perspective and to also acknowledge that there's lots of good news as well.