Just looking at this guy makes you want to take the mallet to him. The programming czar at Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV and other lifestyle channels, helped inflate the real estate bubble by instructing gullible viewers how to extract value from their homes or as it is more appropriately known …. Over leverage against fragile assets.

Programs like Designed to Sell, House Hunters and My House Is Worth What? developed loyal audiences, giving the housing game glamour and gusto. Jablin didn't act alone: shows like Flip That House (TLC) and Flip This House (A&E) also came on the scene. To be fair however he simply tapped into the "greed is good" mentality which had gripped American consumers and which spilled over into other world markets but it shows how influential the media is and the validity of Pavlov's doggie experiment - air the show and people respond ... And we all know the results.