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NewHunt: Getting a Grip on the Economy

"As goes General Motors, so goes the country." So the saying goes, reflecting the interconnectedness of the automotive giant's economic news and the state of the nation's economy. It's no surprise, then, that the most-reviewed story in this week's NewsHunt was a New York Times piece entitled "General Motors, Driven to the Brink."

A NewsHunt is a project from NewsTrust that invites citizens to find and rank the most trustworthy, relevant online stories about the economy from the past week.  For this week's NewsHunt, NewsTrust joined PBS Engage, NewsTrust, Online NewsHour, and University of Nevada, Reno.

"It is hard to imagine the United States without any Chevrolets, Buicks, Cadillacs and GMC trucks--even as many of us have disdained these brands during the past twenty years," reviewer Walter Cox wrote of the Times' GM story. "This article makes it clear just how crucial the SUV was to GM''s continued success during this period, and also how difficult it will be to create an alternate profit base."

But reviewer Kristin Gorski noted that to tie the automotive industry to the economic downturn around the U.S., the story need to go further. "So much of the piece is focused on points of view from auto-industry-related sources, that it needs some outside perspectives to provide better balance," she wrote.

Over the course of the week, readers submitted 557 reviews of 115 stories, including articles from sources that are less mainstream than the Times. For example, some reviewers dismissed this piece from Canadian source Global Research "opinionated," while others rated it highly as a good source of information about the economy. Reviewer Gabrielle noted that the story was important because "I had no idea the economy was in trouble as far back as June 2007. It is almost as if the politicans are not commenting on this issue, so nothing is getting done. Someone needs to do something quick."

And to close things out, who better to give some perspective on the economy than Ben Stein, infamous for his film and television appearances, but also famous for being a conservative commentator on politics and the economy. His recent column in the International Herald Tribune popped up during the NewsHunt.

Did you see something this week that the NewsTrust reviewers missed? Sign up and join them to review stories from across the web on a variety of topics - from the economy to the election to foreign affairs and more.

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