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 mind that the business media should have been telling investors to still keep minding the accounting. The business media, those personality driven little devils, always see the world through the lens of people. When people change, circumstances automatically do.

“Speaking of personalities, a big story line with Sullivan had to do with the fact that Greenberg was always lurking in the background, saying snide things. The business media speculated endlessly on this Oedipal story line of whether Sullivan would be able to supplant his overbearing father figure. It never occurred to them that these were simply to birds of a feather, who would fail in the same way, joining each other in disgrace.”

Read more here.