Is the media a cause or an effect of pessimistic bias? If prices rise, it will worry economists and pundits because it is inflationary. If the price level falls, it will worry economists and pundits because it signals possible deflation and a "contracting economy." For what good news might look like, here's the European Central Bank's website on price stability. With respect to macroeconomic policy, here's co-blogger Larry White on the Gold Standard and a podcast with George Selgin on free banking.

For grad students who are interested in applied Austrian monetary theory and who are reading this blog instead of writing, you can justify your procrastination by beginning an empirical/historical paper on price stability under alternative monetary regimes. You can start your lit review here. And here's the Google Books preview of Larry's The Theory of Monetary Institutions, which you can get used for $10 plus shipping at Amazon.