TheDeal.com executive editor Yvette Kantrow assesses the influence that bloggers have had on financial journalism because they report rumors given to them by their readers before reporting has had a chance to verify the facts.
“Indeed, more than a few anonymous commentators weighed in on what they heard or believed was going on, from cuts being made across all of structured finance to layoffs being limited to leveraged finance and numbering about 250. Reading the posts is like getting your hands on a reporter’s raw notes without being given any additional information. It’s up to the reader to decide what makes sense and what doesn’t, even though that poor soul, unlike a reporter, has no idea of the credibility of each source.
“One DealBreaker commentator, however, directed readers to an item on The New York Times’ DealBook Web site that said Credit Suisse was laying off 150 people in its mortgage-backed securities unit, sourced to ‘a person with knowledge of the matter.’ The DealBook report was confirmed the next day by an announcement from Credit Suisse, earning the Times credit from other media outlets with breaking the news. On its own site, however, DealBook tipped its hat to DealBreaker for first reporting the speculation the day before.”
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A great example here of the evolving relationship between the audience and professional reporters. Sure, the audience is playing a bigger role in setting the agenda. But in the end, the audience -- when it tires of speculation -- turns to the pros to get the facts and settle the score.