Categories: OLD Media Moves

Financial Post’s Cattaneo retiring from oil and gas beat

Claudia Cattaneo [Photo Peter J Thompson] [For National story by TBA/National] //NATIONAL POST STAFF PHOTO
Claudia Cattaneo, who has covered oil and gas for the Financial Post in Canada for more than two decades, is retiring and writes about how the beat has changed in the past 20 years.

Cattaneo writes, “Oil and gas reporting has changed a lot, reflecting both the disruption in mainstream media and the war between fossil fuels and green energy.

“It now takes real courage to do it.

“Reporters have become collateral damage in the conflict between the two camps. Their reputations are constantly under attack and dismissed as ‘oil shills’ on social media by activists who’d rather see fair industry coverage suppressed.

“In reality, the oil and gas industry has responded by becoming less accessible, which is not helpful to anyone. Company leaders and analysts stick to scripts and keep media out of events, tours of operations are now rare, most of the communications staff has been fired, and credible sources are hard to find. Information has splintered over many social media platforms, some credible, some not. Meanwhile, media budgets have shrunk and editorial staff cut.

“There is a lot more information now, but of low quality.

“It’s all left readers begging once again for credible and independent reporting on energy, whether about the safety of pipelines or carbon emissions, as political leaders make important decisions about the sector’s future.”

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

Is this the end of CoinDesk as we know it?

Former CoinDesk editorial staffer Michael McSweeney writes about the recent happenings at the cryptocurrency news site, where…

15 hours ago

LinkedIn finance editor Singh departs

Manas Pratap Singh, finance editor for LinkedIn News Europe, has left for a new opportunity…

2 days ago

Washington Post announces start of third newsroom

Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray sent out the following on Friday: Dear All, Over the last…

3 days ago

FT hires Moens to cover competition and tech in Brussels

The Financial Times has hired Barbara Moens to cover competition and tech in Brussels. She will start…

3 days ago

Deputy tech editor Haselton departs CNBC for The Verge

CNBC.com deputy technology editor Todd Haselton is leaving the news organization for a job at The Verge.…

3 days ago

“Power Lunch” co-anchor Tyler Mathisen is leaving CNBC

Note from CNBC Business News senior vice president Dan Colarusso: After more than 27 years…

3 days ago