Biz journalists doing good job with crisis, could do better

I interviewed Bernie Kohn, the president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the head of the investigations team at the Baltimore Sun, on Tuesday to get his impressions of how the business media was covering the current economic crisis.

Here are some of his thoughts:

On why coverage is different now than with the tech bubble of 2000: “I’m not sure you saw a lot of cheerleading for the housing bubble or the breakdown in lending standards. A good cross-section of media saw trouble ahead several years ago, though perhaps few if anyone saw the contagion that has led to the panic of the past several weeks.”

On whether the business media could have anticipated the crisis: “I think we did a good job in anticipating the component parts, but I’m not sure anyone saw how they all fit the way they did. It’s easy to place blame on media, but clearly, the Secretary of the Treasury didn’t see this either. Nor the chairman of the Fed. It’s hard to foresee panic, which is a human reaction rather than an economic one.”

What business journalism can do better: “Don’t forget the explainer. Everyone is doing the consumer Q&A and the mainbar piece, but those who can make sense of these swirling forces adds extra value. And be smartly local. Not man on the street, or stockbroker-handholding stories, but real measurable impact stories – like customers of a local brokerage whose funds were swept into a money market fund that broke the buck essentially seeing their accounts frozen as the market went to hell. Keep close watch on local banks with lots of bad loans and weak capital and be ready for the possibility of a Friday night failure. Be aware of what local businesses are particularly dependent on credit from outlets that may be drying up. If all you’re doing is duplicating the wires or the New York Times, why should people be reading or listening to you?”

Read the rest of the interview, posted on the SABEW site, here.