Jeff Poor of the Business & Media Institute writes that the business media has all but ignored the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 14,000 mark for the first time earlier this week.

Poor wrote, “Katie Couric briefly mentioned it on the CBS ‘Evening News,’ and ABC ‘World News’ ignored it on July 17. The New York Times buried it on page 10 of the business section July 18.

“NBC ‘Nightly News’ was the exception – leading its broadcast with the Wall Street story which included an admission that ‘a lot more people than you would think’ are making money from the markets.

“‘Earlier this afternoon, when the closing bell rang on the opposite coast on Wall Street in New York, the Dow Jones industrials hit an all-time high, up again more than 20 points, to close painfully close to that 14,000 mark, having briefly climbed above it earlier in the day,’ said anchor Brian Williams.

“But media coverage of Dow milestones has been mostly pessimistic. Every time the Dow broke through a milestone – the 11,000 on Jan. 10, 2006 all the way up to its passing of the 13,000 mark on April 25, naysayers in the media cast doubt on the possibility of a continued climb.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

Recent Posts

Kynge departing FT after 28 years

James Kynge, the Europe-China correspondent at the Financial Times, is leaving the publication after 28…

4 hours ago

Debtwire hires Nair as distressed debt reporter

Debtwire has hired Lavanya Nair as a distressed debt reporter. She is based in New York and…

4 hours ago

Oatis, Reuters Americas desk editor, is retiring

Jonathan Oatis, a desk editor for Reuters America, sent out the following to his colleagues:…

4 hours ago

Front Office Sports seeks a business of women sports reporter

Front Office Sports is seeking a dynamic reporter to lead our coverage of the business…

7 hours ago

Front Office Sports seeks a finance reporter

Front Office Sports is seeking a dynamic reporter to lead our coverage of the new…

7 hours ago

Bloomberg Industry Group hires Mays as investigative reporter

Bloomberg Industry Group has hired Mackenzie Mays as an investigative reporter. Mays currently covers state government and…

1 day ago