Defending personal finance journalism

CNBC.com senior editor John Carney writes Wednesday in favor of personal finance journalism despite some claims that it is old news or a contrary indicator.

Carney writes, “Personal finance journalism is like a magical mirror that reflects back at the reader a slightly smarter and better looking version of himself.

“Once we understand this, it’s easy to see why even those of us who fall outside the mainstream can benefit from reading personal finance journalism. If you tend to be contrarian or just plain unorthodox, it can often be hard to put yourself in the mindset of people whose thinking is closer to the conventional wisdom. You need a guide to the conventional wisdom—at least as a confirmation that it is what you suspect it is.

“That’s where personal finance journalists come in. The most successful personal finance publications are the ones who are best at figuring out what the investing public thinks and then polishing up that thinking and selling it back to the investing public. That’s their real expertise: what people already think.”

Read more here.