Business media overuses Moody’s Zandi
Ryan Chittum of the Columbia Journalism Review writes Friday that business journalists call on Moody’s economist Mark Zandi too much and need to broaden their source lists. Chittum writes, “Who’s Mark Zandi? He’s the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, a Keynesian McCain adviser back in 2008 who supports the Obama stimulus, and a quote machine […]
How business reporting helps one understand numbers and markets
Editor Britta Waller of Pace Communications, which produces magazines for companies such as Southwest Airlines and US Airways, writes about how she became facile with understanding markets and numbers. Waller writes, “Most of the editors I know joke about their lack of skill with understanding numbers or even doing simple arithmetic without a calculator. ‘We’re […]
Marketplace explains in a way that people can understand
Lucas Shaw of The Wrap interviewed Deborah Clark, the new executive producer of “Marketplace,” the business show on public radio. Here is an excerpt: What is the first order of business as the new head of editorial? We have a great opportunity right now. What’s been happening in recent weeks in particular with lots of […]
The reporting and writing style of Michael Lewis
In the wake of a story in Vanity Fair by financial journalist Michal Lewis that he argues misses the mark, Felix Salmon of Reuters examines Lewis’s writing and reporting techniques. Salmon writes, “Lewis is the best writer in financial journalism by some large margin, and much of what he does when reporting and writing his […]
Speed vs. accuracy in business reporting
Paren Peterson, the managing editor of the Tacoma News-Tribune, writes Sunday about the desire to be first with a story compared to getting the story right. Petersonw rites, “Their story began, ‘Today the City of Tacoma became among the first municipalities in the U.S. to have its credit rating on debt downgraded by Standard & […]
Leonhardt’s success is due to intellectual curiosity
Andrew Damstedt of American Journalism Review profiles David Leonhardt of the New York Times, the Pulitzer Prize-winning business columnist who is becoming the paper’s Washington bureau chief. Damstedt writes, “Ingrassia says one of the reasons he picked Leonhardt as a columnist was that he wasn’t sure precisely what he was going to get each week. […]
WSJ reporter Schoofs says goodbye
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE Mark Schoofs, a Wall Street Journal reporter who is leaving the paper for ProPublica, sent a goodbye e-mail to his colleagues Friday that included some excellent writing tips. On Monday, after more than 11 years at The Wall Street Journal, I’ll start a new job. I’ll be a senior editor at […]
Tips on covering the financial crisis
Andrew Gauthier of TV Spy has tips from a handful of local TV newsers on how to cover the current financial crisis. Here are a couple: Keep It Simple “I think keeping it simple and understandable is job one,” says WOIO anchor-reporter Paul Joncich. “Most folks who have stock portfolios have access to much more […]
The problem with business news books
Bryan Burrough, the author of “Barbarians at the Gate” who is now a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, writes for The New York Times on Saturday about the problem with many business books. Burrough writes, “A lot of business books I see are written by consultants and others who I suspect seek to use the […]
Business journalism, investors and Twitter
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE A story in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reports that Pacific Investment Management Co. invested in Lehman Brothers bonds before the Wall Street firm filed for bankruptcy court protection and went out of business. However, those who follow PIMCO’s Twitter feed knew that the story was coming back on May 27, when […]
