Buffett and the business media

Peter Cohan writes on DailyFinance.com about how billionaire Warren Buffett manipulates the business press so easily.

Cohan writes, “In addition to having Fortune‘s blessing (as evidenced in part by Loomis’s editing his annual report), Buffett spent time conducting off-the-record interviews with reporters. Lewis reported that this led to a media kerfuffle after Nov. 8, 1991, when The Wall Street Journal had the audacity to burst the St. Warren myth by printing some of that off-the-record commentary, noting that he ‘keeps a mistress, hobnobs with celebrities, and enjoys his luxuries (fancy threads, limos, suites in the Plaza) as much as any billionaire.’

“After a fascinating series of climactic media events, the Journal ended up retracting this bit from its story, after it wasn’t able to admit that it may have gotten these anecdotes from then-PR hero, James Burke, who famously handled the 1982 Tylenol poisoning scandal so well, rather than confirming them directly with Buffett.

“Buffett’s skill at working with the media may have also helped him to retract his earlier public support for Gutfreund, after it came to light that Gutfreund hid for four months an investigation into Salomon’s violation of U.S. Treasury bidding rules. Buffett installed Deryck Maughan, a former British Treasury official, as CEO, and they buffed up Salomon before selling it to Travelers Group at a profit.

“The Sage of Omaha was seen as the White Knight rather than an inattentive shareholder who should have, but didn’t, know or care what kind of shenanigans were going on at Salomon. Perhaps it was his ability to bend the media to his will that let him enjoy both a reputation as the world’s shrewdest investor (who I think must have known how Salomon made money) and that of an ethical Midwesterner who was duped by Salomon’s gang of banksters.”