As a long time journalist I’ve come to know how media cycles go. A week ago, the international food summit ended in a train wreck; developing countries didn’t get rich countries to stop subsidizing their farmers in ways that would let the poor countries have open access to free markets.

This week, out comes a predictable Sunday story about one place that is turning the food crisis into a market opportunity. In this case it’s Ghana.

It’s not cynical to view the media in that way; it’s that the pattern is predictable; the call from editors for no more gloom and doom stories, show me how something works goes out mid week, and by Sunday, it’s there. I’ve been in those newsrooms, and that’s the drill. You can also use that pattern to your advantage if you are aware of it.