Covering the Shopapocalypse
Danny Schechter writes on the Media Channel web site that coverage of the opening of the Christmas shopping season seems to neglect the impact that the economy is having on consumers. Schechter wrote, “Were most media outlets connecting any dots between the annual shopathon and the ‘severe recession’ that many economists are forecasting? Were there […]
Black Friday coverage tips
Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute has some great suggestions on covering the Black Friday shopping day that go beyond traipsing to the malls and shopping centers and talking to consumers. “We spend so much time focusing on shopping when covering Black Friday, but there is a big story to be told about holiday jobs, […]
Terrible job in reporting housing data
Seth Jayson from The Motley Fool writes Tuesday that the business media isn’t reporting housing data from the federal government correctly. Jayson wrote, “As usual, the headline mills out there are carrying misleading information, either because they can’t understand the statistics they’re reading, or because they don’t care to report the numbers truthfully. “For instance, […]
Foreclosure data used by biz media under scrutiny
Andrew Galvin of The Orange County Register writes about how the foreclosure data from RealtyTrac that is widely used by business journalists covering real estate is actually overstated. Galvin wrote, “Since RealtyTrac began putting out the news releases in 2005, the number of unique visitors to its Web site has tripled to 3 million a […]
Homebuilders blame business media for its woes
Greg Robb of Marketwatch writes Monday that homebuilders are increasingly blaming coverage of their industry for slower home sales. Robb wrote, “Brian Catalde, a builder from El Segundo, Calif, complained that negative housing stories are having an impact on buyers. “‘Builders are worried that the national media has tended to report negative housing stories as […]
CEO: Media contributes to housing woes
Floyd Norris of the New York Times writes Friday that Toll Brothers CEO Robert Toll blamed the media on a conference call for the poor sales for his homebuilding company. Norris wrote, “‘Perhaps as the presidential campaign heats up and moves to the front page, negative articles about housing will move off the front page,’ he […]
The best subprime mortgage coverage
Slate media critic Jack Shafer polled experts in economics coverage to determine what reporters had done the best job in covering the subprime mortgage crisis. Shafer wrote, “As a layman, I’ve gleaned much from the Financial Times‘ coverage. A Nov. 5 feature by Gillian Tett and Paul J. Davis (‘What’s the Damage? Why Banks Are […]
TV biz journalists see economic crisis; economists aren't sure
Dan Gainor of the Business & Media Institute writes Wednesday that too many television business journalists are reporting about the economy as if it’s in a crisis when the economists aren’t sure themselves. Gainor wrote, “The only people who appear to be sure of what’s going on in the economy are journalists who feed the […]
WSJ missed Social Security story
Hal Morris, writing on his Grumpy Editor blog, wants to know how The Wall Street Journal missed the story earlier this week about the Social Security cost of living adjustment, which affects 50 million people. Morris wrote, “The absent piece, which made its way to front pages of other publications around the country, was word […]
Why is Ben Stein writing about the economy in the NYT biz section?
Felix Salmon of Conde Nast Portfolio wants to know why economist/actor Ben Stein is writing a column in the Sunday New York Times that is full of errors. Salmon noted that Stein got facts about former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget wrong in his column on Sunday, and that he misquoted himself. Salmon wrote, “Stein, […]
