Categories: OLD Media Moves

Biz journalism’s role in meltdown was “grossly disappointing,” says Ratigan

Foster Kamer of the New York Observer profiles MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, who previously worked as a business journalist at Bloomberg News and CNBC, and got his opinion of how financial journalism has performed in the past few years.

Kamer writes, “Primarily, he cites the financial meltdown, and what he sees as the financial press’s failure to prevent it, see it coming, or at minimum explain it to viewers.

“”It’s negligent,’ Mr. Ratigan said, ‘to be in the national media covering a national unemployment crisis, covering a national housing crisis, covering a national education crisis, covering a national poverty crisis,’ and not be communicating the basic underlying principles to your audience.

“For instance, the idea that credit derivatives are not backed by actual assets, he said, ‘is utterly insulting beyond all comprehension. It’s one of those things where the more you learn about it, the more horrifying it becomes.’

“And the Obama administration hasn’t helped matters, he said. ‘We’ve seen no change. We’ve seen the Obama administration and [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner actually codify and advance’ the broken system. ‘Instead of blaming George Bush or Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, you realize that they’re all doing it!’

“As for financial journalism’s role in the economic meltdown, he said, ‘It’s grossly disappointing.’ He laughed. ‘What do you want me to tell you? It’s embarrassing.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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