Digitalization of business news has been biggest change in 50 years

The speed with which business news and information can now be delivered to readers has been the biggest change in business journalism in the past 50 years, says Marshall Loeb, the former managing editor of Money and Fortune magazines.

“When you see the stuff coming on to the screen, minute after minute after minute, the great volume of coverage, the incredible speed, just the timing of so many stories,” says Loeb. “That overall change has been spectacular. It has also led to all of the layoffs and squeezes in the present moment.

“Obviously, the quality of the journalism has also improved, and there are more people who are interested in business journalism,” adds Loeb. “In the mid 1950s and 1960s, they were financial professionals. Over the years, there has been this evolution that we’re all interested in it because of jobs, unemployment 401(k)s, IRAs, etc.”

Loeb continues to write a column for Marketwatch even though he has been a professional journalist since 1952 and is nearly 80 years old. When asked why, he replied, “Because it’s there.”

“It sure beats the hell out of sitting around suburban New York and reading section three of the New York Times,” says Loeb. “Some people I know of my generation are really delighted to stay at home and read a lot of books, go to the theater and movies. I would like to be able, as long as I can, do something in journalism to stretch my mind and to make a contribution, perhaps, share some ideas with younger colleagues. I chose to challenge myself in the world of journalism.”

Read the entire interview with Loeb here.