Monthly Archives: May 2011
Reuters names new Wall Street editor
by Chris Roush
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
The following announcement was sent to the Reuters staff on Tuesday afternoon by deputy editor in chief Paul Ingrassia:
I’m delighted to name Knut Engelmann as Wall Street editor, a new position in which he will lead coverage of top Wall Street investment banks. Knut, who moved to New York as global company news editor earlier this year, brings a wealth of financial reporting experience, energy and global perspective to the job.
Knut’s appointment to this high-profile role underscores our desire to put our most senior talent at the heart of the news file, and sends a powerful message about the importance of in-the-trenches reporting and writing. It also highlights our commitment to deliver agenda-setting coverage and raise our profile in key areas such as investment banking. Knut will play a crucial role in those efforts.
Knut led our coverage of the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury as senior economics correspondent from 1997 to 2001, a period marked by the Asia financial crisis and dot-com boom and bust. He then had a variety of positions in Europe, most recently overseeing our Editorial operations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Balkans.
Knut will lead a small, dedicated team of reporters focused exclusively on investment banking. The model will be one of player-coach, with the coach doing a lot of playing himself. The area is incredibly competitive, so we need our best people on the job.
Please join me in welcoming Knut to his new position.
Departing AP biz reporter blasts biz news management
by Chris Roush
Janna Herron, a former business reporter for the Associated Press, sent a farewell e-mail on Friday as her parting shot that criticized business news management at the wire service.
The e-mail was posted on Romenesko.
Herron wrote, “I also appreciated the camaraderie that management helped to foster in the newsroom: reporters working together and helping one another; editors encouraging, developing and motivating reporters; and, of course, happy hours that weren’t good-byes.
“Sadly, that is not the department I leave today.
“I’m the 56th person to leave since the newsroom’s management style turned negative and mean-spirited three years ago. And I’m sure I’m not the last. I just couldn’t do it anymore.
“So, best wishes to everyone. You’re all better editors, reporters and writers than what you’ve been told, and you deserve better leadership.”
Read more here. The AP declined to comment to Romenesko.
WSJ names editorial director for blogs
by Chris Roush
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Wall Street Journal managing editor Robert Thomson sent out the following announcement to the staff on Tuesday:
I’m pleased to announce that Chris Farley will assume the role of editorial director for WSJ blogs. Over the past 18 months, Chris has built Speakeasy into one of the most popular destinations on WSJ.com, thanks to clever posts, puckish essays and ceaseless creativity.
As editorial director for the blogs, Chris, who will continue to edit Speakeasy, will work with our bloggers to maximize the quality and impact of their efforts. He will serve as their representative in discussions with our technology and business colleagues, and bring new blogs blinking into the world.
Chris’s appointment comes amid ongoing efforts to improve our platform and to expand our use of blogging and liveblogging. Readership of WSJ blogs continues to expand rapidly, with traffic up well over 50% from last year.
Prior to editing Speakeasy, Chris was an editor for the Marketplace section and Weekend. Along with members of the video team, he helped launch the WSJ Cafe, an acoustic music series that has featured performances by Adele, Jakob Dylan, Sarah McLachlan, John Legend and others. Chris is the author of two novels and a number of non-fiction books (including “Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley” and the bestseller “Aaliyah: More Than a Woman”). He was also the co-author and co-editor of the “The Blues”, the companion volume to the Martin Scorsese documentary series. A former senior editor and pop music critic for Time magazine, Chris is a graduate of Harvard.
We wish all the best in his expanded, crucial role.
The importance of live video streaming
by Chris Roush
Kevin Delaney, managing editor of the WSJ.com, talked recently with Andy Plesser of Beet.tv about the importance of producing live video for the paper’s website.
Deseret News overhauls business news coverage
by Chris Roush
The Deseret News, Utah’s oldest continually published daily newspaper, launched a new business news section Tuesday that will increase coverage of business topics across its print and digital platforms.
The newspaper named former Bloomberg editor Jordan Burke the manager of business content development for the section.
In the newly created role of business content development manager, Burke will function as the newspaper’s business editor and as a product manager to ensure the business section reflects the way readers consume news today. He will coordinate local business reporting as well as manage coverage of national and international business news. His role includes a strong focus on digital news coverage and the development of additional business news products.
Prior to joining the Deseret News, Burke worked in New York as an editor for Bloomberg LP, a provider of financial news and information. At Bloomberg, he oversaw the company’s first vertical news website covering energy. Previously he reported on the North American oil, gas and utility industries and markets. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University.
“Through our business news section, we will enrich the newspaper’s in-depth business reporting, and utilize the power of new media platforms to reach our growing audience,” said Clark Gilbert, president and CEO of the Deseret News, in a statement. “Jordan brings a solid journalism background to this position but he also brings an understanding of the way readers engage with and are influenced by news. We are excited to tap into his leadership and inventive thinking as he develops this section.”
Read more here.
Harvard Business Review overhaul pays off
by Chris Roush
Jeremy Peters of the New York Times writes Monday about the Harvard Business Review and the success of its recent changes.
Peters writes, “According to the Review’s figures, unit sales on the newsstand, where copies cost $16.95, are up 19 percent. New blogs and additional content on its Web site have pushed up visits. Page views in April grew to seven million, compared with 600,000 four years ago, the Review said.
“Among the features that are drawing attention are very un-Harvard Business Review-like items — especially features like a Q. and A. with the comedian Ricky Gervais, below. Mr. Ignatius proudly pointed to other reader feedback that landed in his in-box recently.
“‘Just want to compliment you on the quality of HBR. I have never seen it better,’ said one e-mail Mr. Ignatius shared that was signed ‘Jeff,’ as in Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric.
“The magazine has also signed several new advertisers this year, like Cartier, British Airways and Goldman Sachs. Circulation, after falling in 2008 and 2009, was essentially flat in 2010, at 237,000.”
Read more here.
Editor of biz journal becomes executive editor of California paper
by Chris Roush
Jason Schaff, editor of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, has been named executive editor of The Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
A story on the Signal’s website states, “Schaff said he was looking forward to joining the more than 90-year-old local newspaper.
“‘I believe The Signal is a great local daily newspaper that covers a vibrant, growing community,’ Schaff said. ‘There’s tremendous potential for the publication to grow as an information outlet for the Santa Clarita Valley and beyond, and I’m happy to be given the opportunity to help make that happen.’
“Schaff was managing editor of the Los Angeles Business Journal from 2000 to 2003 before assuming the top editorial spot at the SFV Business Journal.
“He began his career in journalism in 1978 as a reporter with the Southwest Times Record of Fort Smith, Ark.”
Read more here.
Choosing stories that viewers care about
by Chris Roush
Markos Papadatos of Greek USA Reporter interviewed the anchor for the nationally syndicated program “MarketWatch Weekend,” which airs exclusively on CBS stations, Alexis Christoforous, about her career and covering business stories.
Papadatos writes, “‘I was always very curious as a child. I asked a lot of questions and I started talking at a young age. Both of those things lend themselves to this industry, since you need to be inquisitive to be a journalist, and certainly if you are a broadcaster, language and speech is a big part of it. I was always interested in theater and the performing arts, and working in front of the camera was something I always wanted to do. Broadcast journalism blended all of those things. It was the ideal career for me!’ reveals Ms. Christoforous on her inspiration to pursue a career in journalism.
“‘From a very young age, I was bitten by the journalism bug,’ she adds.
“The hardest aspect of Ms. Christoforous’ job as a business journalist is ‘choosing stories that viewers care about and relate to, because sometimes in the world of business, there are stories that are very complicated and some people may not be interested in them. Story selection, and the way I write and present the stories can be very challenging, especially because of my specialty, which is Business and Finance News,’ she reveals.”
Read more here.
Does NYT tech columnist Pogue have a conflict of interest?
by Chris Roush
Dan Lyons, writing for The Daily Beast, notes that the relationship between New York Times tech columnist David Pogue and public relations executive Nicki Dugan raises some ethical concerns.
Lyons writes, “Pogue has been dating Nicki Dugan, a vice president at OutCast Agency, a San Francisco PR firm that represents top tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Cisco, Netflix, and Yahoo, since last year. (On April 24, things between them had grown serious enough that Dugan announced their relationship on her Facebook page.)
“During the time they’ve been involved, Pogue has written articles about OutCast clients and their competitors without disclosing his personal connection to a senior staffer at the firm.
“Pogue’s editor at the New York Times, Damon Darlin, says that Pogue told him about the relationship last December. ‘He was concerned that there might be a perception of a conflict of interest, so we went over it,’ says Darlin, adding that he determined that as long as Pogue didn’t write about companies that Dugan personally represents, there would be no problem. He says he also asked OutCast not to pitch stories to Pogue. ‘People have romances all the time,’ says Darlin. ‘He hasn’t written about any companies that she is representing.’ (Neither Pogue nor Dugan returned a message for comment.)
“Still, the fact that Pogue frequently wrote stories of great importance to his girlfriend’s firm without disclosure makes some familiar with the details uncomfortable. An in-house tech company public relations executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of rankling Pogue, says the issue is more about disclosure than bias.”
Read more here.
How Wall Street uses the business press
by Chris Roush
David Korten of Common Dreams has an interesting take on how the business news media is manipulated by Wall Street.
“A more honest report might have said, ‘Today, hedge fund traders speculating with other people’s money walked away with multimillion dollar commissions for inflating the commodities bubble by a hundred billion dollars.’ In a more honest world, the report would clearly distinguish between real investors creating real wealth through real investments and speculators creating phantom wealth with financial games. People who bet on the price of pieces of paper would be called ‘gamblers.’ Those who hold the bets and distribute the winnings would be called ‘bookies.’
“Boil it down to the basics and you see that Wall Street is in the business of operating four sophisticated, large-scale confidence games.
“In a more honest world, business news would clearly distinguish between real investors creating real wealth through real investments and speculators creating phantom wealth with financial games.”
Read more here.