Bloomberg’s Keene talks Davos coverage

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Bloomberg TV and Radio host Tom Keene will deliver his programs “Bloomberg Surveillance”and “Surveillance Midday”  starting Wednesday live from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the gathering of some of the world’s most powerful people.

Keene is editor of “Flying on One Engine: The Bloomberg Book of Master Market Economists,” published in 2005.

Keene is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and is enrolled in courses at the external programme of the London School of Economics & Political Science.

Keene is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute, the National Association for Business Economics, and the Economic Club of New York.

Talking Biz News talked via e-mail Monday with Keene, who also serves as an editor-at -large for Bloomberg News, about his plans for the event. What follows is an edited transcript.

Why is Davos a business news story?

Leading CEOs go there to visit with each other — and they take many, many meetings in support of their business. They also want to listen to smart people in economics and finance.

How does a business journalist cover Davos properly?

I certainly cover Davos differently than I did pre-financial crisis. My first year covering Davos there were acres of celebrities; this year, you can count them on one hand.

Davos has gotten much more serious but even still, there are different ways to cover it. My job is to find the distinctions in the debate of economics, finance and investment.

It seems as if there are a lot of business journalists who cover Davos. How do you differentiate your coverage?

It’s simple: we try to get the best guests. It’s all about the guests. Also, we go morning, noon and late night having conversations and debates about the issues of the moment. I’ve never skied at Davos — but “InsideTrack” host Erik Schatzker owns the mountain. He’s all double black diamond.

How do you prepare to cover Davos before you fly over?

We do a lot of reading – of research notes, academic research and literature, and also the zeitgeist out there — what are people are writing in op-eds, like Bloomberg View. For example, on Monday Simon Johnson wrote a blistering essay pushing against the optimism of a European solution.

What do you think are the big business-related stories that will be happening?

There is only one story out of Davos and that is cost-cutting, due to slow top-line growth. Look at the Bank of America announcement Bloomberg News’ Hugh Son reported Monday afternoon. Austerity has hit with a vengeance in Europe, and there’s anxiety in the United States over high unemployment.

How much of the worldwide economic situation do you think will be discussed at Davos?

The crisis is front and center. If there’s one thing I learned at Davos, it’s that business leaders are desperate to understand the interdependencies in economics and what are the set of solutions to get us out of this mess.

How do all of these people getting together at the World Economic Forum help business and society?

Business leaders need confidence to create investment, and to create jobs. An uncertain CEO is not job-constructive.

Do you use Davos for source development, to meet people you’d like to interview for Bloomberg TV or another part of Bloomberg’s operations?

Absolutely. One of the great things of Davos is the eclectic set of attendees. I can be standing having a beverage of my choice with an Internet leader, a private equity director and an academic who is a leader on malaria in Africa.

There are elements of truth to the stereotypes at Davos — like the helicopters — but there’s a lot of good, too. People work very hard at Davos.

How does Bloomberg coordinate its coverage of Davos and what are you doing differently this year?

Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg News have built out our coverage over many years. What we’ve learned is we need a deep staff to support our best journalists, because no one can do it alone. And this year TV studio is bigger and better than ever, and even more comfortable for our guests.

Why do you think Davos is “dithering”?

Last year was the ‘Davos of Our Discontent.’ This year, the most used word I’m seeing is ‘dither.’ Europe is dithering. If Davos doesn’t lead, it will be a dithering Davos.