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 […]
Networks ignore Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac fiasco
Julia Seymour of the Business & Media Institute writes Wednesday that the television networks have all but ignored the multibillion dollar bailout of lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a story even though in dollar terms it’s a much bigger deal than the Enron bankruptcy. Seymour also notes that print media such as The […]
The connection between slumping home sales and mortgage loans
Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, wants to know why business writers have trouble seeing the link between lower pending home sales and tighter loan requirements. Morris writes, “Many newspaper business writers fail to see that until home sales improve, display and classified advertising in the (formerly lucrative) housing category will continue to suffer, […]
Madigan, ex-BusinessWeek, joins Dow Jones Newswires as columnist
Kathleen Madigan, a former BusinessWeek writer, is joining Dow Jones Newswires as Big Picture columnist and economics writer, according to an internal e-mail on Monday. Eduardo Kaplan and Madeline Lim wrote, “Kathleen’s hire will boost our economics coverage at a time when the U.S. and the global economies face severe strains that are bringing about […]
