Fuchs admits he was wrong about Yahoo!/Microsoft stories
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs, who for months has criticized unsourced stories speculating about a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo!, is now eating some crow after a proposed acquisition was announced Friday morning. Fuchs wrote, “But first, just as every dog has its day, so, apparently, does every unsourced takeover rumor. The Business Press Maven, […]
Drug company changes earnings release after confusion
Mike Huckman, who covers drug companies for CNBC, writes Thursday that Bristol-Myers Squibb changed its earnings release after a number of media outlets reported that they missed analyst expectations. Huckman wrote, “Here’s an excerpt from the very top of the press release BMY issued just after 7:36:59 ET this morning on the PR Newswire: “Posts […]
Objectivity in covering the auto industry
James G. Cobb, an assistant business and finance editor at the New York Times who oversees the paper’s auto coverage, responded to a reader’s question about how the paper maintains its objectivity in covering one of its largest advertisers. Cobb wrote, “Indeed, I’m sure we give our counterparts on the ad side some headaches. I’ve […]
CNET, a takeover target, hurt by blogs
Kevin Delaney of The Wall Street Journal writes Tuesday about how tech news company CNET has seen its business suffer because of the rise of blogs that now offer much of the same information and commentary. Delaney wrote, “Founded in 1992, CNET operates a string of Web sites focused primarily on technology and entertainment, such […]
Tyson Foods trying to spin the news
Jack Flack of Conde Nast Portfolio looks Monday at how Tyson Foods try to spin a judge’s order over how it could label some of its chicken to its advantage. Flack wrote, “By being the first out with the news, the company ensured that the story was framed as the judge rejecting the complaint, instead […]
Rough 2008 ahead for Financial Times?
Lionel Laurent of Forbes writes Tuesday about how a slowing U.S. economy could negatively impact The Financial Times. Laurent noted that French billionaire Bernard Arnault, owner of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, is also interested in purchasing the newspaper. Laurent wrote, “But the issue of the Financial Times does have an effect on Pearson shareholders, especially since […]
Trust in business media goes up
Readers of American media now have high levels of trust in the media, particularly the business media, according to the Edelman 2008 Trust Barometer. Forty-five percent of Americans have high levels of trust in the media to “do what’s right,” up from 33 percent three years ago. And business magazines rank the No. 1 most […]
Bloomberg story quoting report paid for by company is corrected
Bloomberg News corrected a story Friday published Thursday that initially quoted an analyst report paid for by the company, BioSolar, and the update story now states that the analyst was paid. The original story did not disclose that the analyst had been paid for the report. The story now reads, “Beacon said in a statement distributed Jan. […]
CEO screams at CNBC reporter for "dirty" questions
American Apparel CEO Dov Charney and CNBC reporter Margaret Brennan got into it Wednesday, with Charney accusing Brennan of asking “dirty” questions on the air about his pending sexual harrassment lawsuit. Brennan wrote, “Personally, I don’t feel that I’d be doing my job as a journalist if I didn’t ask a CEO whether ongoing litigation […]
Interviewing the boss, and letting him off easy
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs believes that CNBC anchor Joe Kernen let GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt off easy earlier this week when the company lowered its growth projections next year to 10 percent from 13 percent. GE, by the way, is the parent company of CNBC. Immelt wrote, “General Electric cut its 2008 earnings numbers […]
