Defending Mark Zandi’s use by business journalists

Adam Davidson of National Public Radio defends the use of Moody’s economist Mark Zandi by business journalists in the wake of Columbia Journalism Review‘s Ryan Chittum commenting that he’s been quoted an awful lot in the media this year.

Davidson writes, “He does one of the most widely followed economic forecasts. That forces him to be on top of the very latest news and data in a way that few others are. And what he says does, in fact, have a bigger impact than what most other economists say.

“He’s also great at explaining economic issues in a clear, straightforward but still intellectually grounded way. To put it mildly, this is not a trait that is easy to find among economists.

“He’s also at least a bit bipartisan. He advised the John McCain campaign and has recently defended President Obama. And he admits mistakes when he’s wrong.

“For all these reasons, I think Zandi is more likely than most to have substantive things to say on any given economic news.

“He’s not the only economist who meets all of these criteria, I’m sure, but I can’t think of any others.”

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