A wet kiss from the NYT biz section

The NYTpicker site writes Sunday that the profile of General Electric Co. and CEO Jeff Immelt in the Sunday business section of the New York Times is a puff piece.

NYTpicker writes, “But this week — to borrow the language of the virtual GE press release it published as a cover story today — it’s ‘back to basics’ for a NYT section more notable for its flackery than its scoops. Too often, its columns promote products, its interviews push personalities, and its cover stories depend more on exclusive access than investigative muscle.

“That’s the story behind this week’s wet kiss. In 3,690 words, longtime NYT business reporter Steve Lohr manages to reward one of America’s most battered corporations, GE, with the chance to resurrect itself — simply, it seems, as payback for the chance to interview Jeffrey Immelt, its struggling CEO.

“As anyone who follows the business world knows, GE took a major beating in the 2008 economic meltdown, having pinned its future on its GE Capital financial services unit. That resource fell apart in 2008, as the credit crisis left GE reeling.”

Read more here.