As the recession originated in the US with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, my trip to LA had me curious about the economic impact at a local level. Being a total news junkie, I managed to sneak in a few news reports on the various channels, in between lounging in my uncle's sun-drenched backyard and hunting for recession-busting bargains at the mall.

I was interested to see if the current climate was portrayed in the 'doom and gloom' manner favoured by some of our own media.

In contrast, fluorescent-orange news anchors broadcast regular updates on the plummeting property prices across the valley, seemingly dosed up on happy pills and wittering with each other in over-the-top, nauseating tones.

Stories of crime and highway accidents are reported in such a cheesy, almost bizarre, manner that I often wondered if I was hearing the news correctly. Perhaps the Botox-pumped presenters are just immune to the tragic tales that are all too frequent in a city of 12 million.

The most ostentatious report I witnessed was following a freak outbreak of rain one morning which made for Big News: it didn't dampen my holiday spirits but did make me smile!

Ads for herpes, haemorrhoids and debt help lines are all delivered in equal measures of syrupy sweetness.

Interesting too was how a lot of stories eclipsed our own news of late: the take over of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show reminded me of Pat's departure, while news of retail hell and students being rejected from their fee-paying schools were all too familiar.

I'm not sure why I am surprised as I knew America was in a worsening financial crisis but somehow I hadn't expected so much of a similarity but it seems the US is really just as bad as here.

Apart from the unbelievable sales, I was lucky to be holidaying far from any recession reality at my uncle’s, although California is clearly a state with many struggles ahead.

It seems however that the trend in broadcast media is for the anchors to maintain their blinding, bleached smiles and saccharine style, in an effort to preserve the ‘happiness’ all Americans seem to adopt in public.

Whether it’s reporters, struggling waiters in half-empty bars or pouncing sales assistants who greet me ecstatically in every shop, no one could ever be accused of being gloomy, no matter what their troubles.

It's just the Californian way, service with a smile and tangerine-tinged television.

Although I could never adjust to such an overload of enthusiasm, it's good to see people trying to lift their own spirits, and each others. Have a nice day now!