Biz media ignore bigger issues with book retailer woes
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Wednesday that recent coverage of Borders and Barnes & Noble’s earnings accepted their explanation of the slowing economy hurting sales without examining other issues. Fuchs writes, “I guess, for the business media, two companies using the same excuse makes the excuse legitimate. But, uh, The Business Press Maven inspected […]
Biz media gets it right with Ann Taylor
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Monday that the coverage of Ann Taylor’s earnings on Friday were on the mark by ignoring the EPS and the full-year outlook — what the company wanted to play up — and instead focusing on how net income and revenue fell. Fuchs writes, “These instant analysis articles from business […]
New business news aggregate site launched
Ivy Schmerken of Wall Street & Technology writes about a new Web site called Streetread that aggregates business news from more than 20 sites, including Forbes, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. Schmerken writes, “The site was ‘born out of the daily frustrations of trying to stay up to date with all the important […]
SEC's investigation is silencing biz journalism sources
Nicholas Yulico of TheStreet.com writes Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into hedge funds and shorting of stocks has silenced some sources. Yulico writes, “The result is that some general counsels inside hedge funds are now telling their analysts and portfolio managers to be more tight-lipped — especially with journalists. “One of my […]
Cisco earnings coverage is short circuited
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Wednesday that media coverage of Cisco’s earnings was either too positive or too negative, and both missed the real story. Fuchs writes, “In that aspect, Reuters treatment of Cisco’s earnings was not as positive as it should have been, failing to recognize the significance of the company’s beating expectations […]
TheStreet.com's earnings fall, revenue jumps 32 percent
Financial news Web site TheStreet.com reported Thursday that second-quarter revenue rose 32 percent because of more advertising, but profits fell. A story on its site stated, “For the quarter ended June 30, the New York-based financial media company reported revenue of $19.7 million, compared with $14.9 million for the year-earlier period. Net income fell to $2.3 […]
Reporting on Merrill Lynch deal fails to explain risk it's kept
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs takes issue with reporting at Forbes and the New York Times that ignores or plays down the risk that Merrill Lynch has kept by financing a deal to take $11 billion of risky investments off its books. Fuchs writes, “And, as happens when you don’t let your foot get caught […]
Dow Jones Newswires to start new commodities markets column
Simon Constable has been hired by Dow Jones Newswires to write a new column about the commodities markets, according to an internal e-mail from Americas senior editor Rick Stine. Stine writes, “The focus of the new column will be investment ideas for people interested in the commodities markets. Some of the columns will be aimed […]
Biz journalists likely to praise new CEO without looking at facts
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Monday that the departure of American International Group CEO Martin Sullivan should serve as a reminder to never believe fawning coverage of new CEOs, which is what Sullivan got entering the job. Both Forbes and The New York Times wrote positive stories early in his tenure. Fuchs writes, “Never […]
Biz media let Gap CEO get away with script
TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes that the business media has let Gap CEO Glenn Murphy get away with telling investors that the company’s stores have become too big “all of a sudden” when they have been that way for a decade. Fuchs writes, “Now let’s be fair. Even scripted to the nines as modern-day […]
