Assessing the Goldman coverage

Marketwatch.com media columnist Jon Friedman writes Wednesday about how the media are performing covering the fraud charges against Goldman Sachs & Co.

Friedman writes, “The Goldman story is a test for the media. There is plenty of speculation about such pertinent issues as the firm’s financial prospects, the future of Goldman Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, the morale of the firm’s privileged and wealthy employees, the stunning changes in the firm’s culture from haughty to nervous.

“The trick is to separate the gossip from the news and still be first in an age when blogs and Internet sites trump the traditional forms of newspapers, magazines, television and radio media.

“‘The biggest challenge is simply explaining the complexities of the financial deals that Goldman was involved in,’ said Anthony Mason, the leading business and finance correspondent at CBS. “‘It’s especially tricky when even people in the industry have trouble explaining them. In general I think the media has done a pretty good job with a story that is extremely hard to reduce to a few paragraphs.'”

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