Insana speaks on business and biz journalism

CNBC’s Ron Insana spoke earlier this week on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas about business and business journalism, and a number of the students who attended the event have blogged about what he said.

This student, for example, wrote, “The one part I could understand and relate to was when he spoke about business journalism. He says that often business journalists will know much about politics and other subjects, but political journalists rarely know as much about business. Insana adds that the financial community often has the first word in news. Because there is so much money involved, the supporters need to be updated and kept up to date. Otherwise, the monetary support could be taken away.

“I don’t really know how much I enjoyed the lecture on Monday; perhaps it is because of my lacking knowledge of stocks and business. I thought I would be able to avoid delving into this area, but according to Insana, it’s important for me and other future journalists to know. I don’t like this idea, but I’m open to it. I guess it’s time to crack open the Business section and try to catch up.”

And another one wrote, “I once thought a current event was a newsworthy occurence, predicted or unpredicted. But apparently the financial sphere of society has so much power, it can even predict the unpredictable. Insana referenced CNBC analyst Art Cashin who observed that the stock market fell dramatically nine minutes before word even hit the news stations that President John F. Kennedy had been shot.

“So if an expert like Insana says mainstream current events depend on the business world, if Americans slave their daily lives to the business world, and if American’s behavior and actions change depending on the business world’s markets, then I’m left to ask myself one question.

“What does the ‘business world’ not control?”

Read more here to get her answer. Also, the journalism program at SMU is apparently getting close to naming its William O’Neil Chair in Business Journalism. That person will develop a business journalism curriculum at the university.