LA Times names housing reporter

Bill Heisel, a reporter on the Los Angeles Times California desk, is switching over to the business desk to cover the mortgage meltdown, housing foreclosures and their impact on the regional economy, according to a memo from business editor Sallie Hofmeister. Hofmeister writes, “As an investigative reporter for California since early 2006, Bill has written about […]

Ukman named Washington Post economics editor

Sandy Sugawara, the business editor at the Washington Post, has named Jason Ukman as the paper’s new economics editor, according to an internal e-mail announcement. Sugawara writes, “We are pleased to announce that Jason Ukman will be our new economics editor, overseeing our coverage of the economy, the Fed, globalization, the federal budget and tax […]

Media coverage of the economy lags, according to study

Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group. Associated Press business writer Kristen Lee reports, “The Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed more than 5,000 economic stories in 2007 and the first […]

Economics coverage becoming easier for business journalists?

The Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond held a one-day workshop on Tuesday for business journalists who want to get a better grasp on what’s going on in the economy. One of the panels was a toundtable discussion of the subprime mortgage market, but I came away more intrigued by Richmond Fed […]

Few economists in WSJ story on forecasting the economy

Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, wants to know why there were only three economists in an article in today’s Wall Street Journal with the headline: “Economists expect 2008’s second half to be worse than the first.” Morris writes, “Expecting to see input from a survey of 100 economists, or even 50, a […]

Tracking gasoline prices for readers

Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute had some great advice from Cincinnati Enquirer assistant business editor Mark Wert on getting the most out of gasoline price stories. Wert told Tompkins: “During that time, we have kept a database of the daily average price in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, so we have great historic data […]

CBS downplays GDP growth, while other networks silent

Brent Baker of NewsBusters wants to know how network CBS can report that a doubling of the Gross Domestic Product is a “struggling economy,” while the other major networks ignore the news. Baker writes, “Second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) doubled to 1.9 percent, up from 0.9 percent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department […]

Readers hate stories about world trade talks

Allen Wastler, the managing editor of CNBC.com, writes Wednesday that readers of his Web site aren’t that interested in stories about the world trade talks breaking down. Wastler writes, “Sure the world trade talks, which just crumpled for the umpteenth time, are very, very important. Global trade is one of those macro-economic things that touches […]

Media won't break bank by writing about troubled ones

Orange County Register business columnist Jon Lansner wonders why S&L regulator John Reich believes that the media can cause the downfall of a struggling financial institution. Lansner, former president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, writes, “I’m not going to defend every report on banking made by every reporter in recent weeks. […]

CNBC's Burnett fascinated with global economics coverage

Michele Greppi of TV Week profiles CNBC anchor Erin Burnett in the latest issue and notes her interest in covering the economy. Greppi writes, “Bloomberg News Editor in Chief Matt Winkler wrote a recommendation supporting her application to join the Council on Foreign Relations, which welcomed her recently. NBC News’ Brian Williams and Andrea Mitchell […]