North Carolina gets some good news.

• Author: Hood, John
• Position: FREE&CLEAR - Economic conditions of North Carolina

"To a journalist," Phil Donahue once observed, "good news is often not news at all." He may have been exaggerating, but there is no question that bad news tends to get bigger headlines than good news. "All planes land safely at airport" will never make the front page. "No politicians were arrested today" will never lead the evening newscast.

There's no media conspiracy here. Editors and producers are just giving us what we want: the exceptional, ominous, tragic and cathartic. Still, the endless parade of accidents, blunders, disasters and downturns leads many people to form unrealistically negative perceptions of reality. Despite the occasionally horrific airplane crash, flying is the safest way to travel. Though political scandals are a staple of our news diet, the vast majority of politicians will never commit a crime.

I'm all for realistically negative perceptions of reality, by the way. Our state and nation really do face monumental economic challenges and persistent social ills. Last year, I wrote a book about North Carolina's economy that was, in most respects, far from flattering. Citing data such as unemployment and income growth, I argued that the Tar Heel State had in recent years changed from a pacesetter of the Sunbelt economy into a perennial laggard.

I stand by the core argument of the book, Our Best Foot Forward. The state was in desperate need of pro-growth policy changes. But as a naturally upbeat person, I also included some reasons for optimism about the state's economic future. I wrote that, until the 1990s, North Carolina had often deserved its reputation as a Dixie dynamo. Blessed with natural beauty and a pleasant climate, it has produced or attracted some of the most congenial, inventive and hardworking people on the planet. They're still here, or on their way.

Furthermore, despite what the day-to-day headlines and news broadcasts might lead you to believe, the last year has produced many signs of progress in North Carolina. Here are five examples that may have escaped your notice:

* The annualized rate of job growth has exceeded the national average nine of the last 12 months.

* Annual growth in per capita income exceeded the national average in 2012, after trailing it in income growth seven of the previous 10 years.

* Annual growth in private-sector gross domestic product--a fundamental indicator of economic health--exceeded the national average in 2012 for the first time since the onset of the Great Recession.

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