Is the Press Freaking Us Out?

Here's an interesting link. It graphically represents the number of stories archived by Google News over the last eight years with the phrase "Great Depression" appearing anywhere in the body or headline. A few questions for consideration:

• Does use/overuse of the term become self-fulfilling?
• Is the press just calling 'em like they see 'em?
• To get readers/viewers does each story have to be incrementally more sensational than the preceding one?

My view is that all three forces are at work.