KC Star readers want banner headline for EVERY Dow record

Kansas City Star business editor Chris Lester noted in his Tuesday column that readers of the business section clamored for big headlines in October every single time the Dow Jones industrial average set a record.

Lester wrote, “Apparently, some long-suffering investors weren’t satisfied with the fact we stripped a big headline across the top of the front page of the newspaper marking the day the Dow returned to record territory. They wanted similar stories every subsequent record-setting day.

“These folks, it seems, yearn for a bit more irrational exuberance. A couple of callers even went so far — employing the salty language generally reserved for sports bars and newsrooms — as to accuse me of being a tool of a left-wing media conspiracy pining for Democrats to reclaim Congress.

“I responded that while a Dow record was certainly worthy of front-page coverage, the daily gains were relatively modest in both size and trading volume.

“Back in the days of irrational exuberance, the standing rule in this corner of the newsroom was that we weren’t writing for the front page unless there was a 300-point move on the Dow — up or down. We typically didn’t write a Business section front story unless there was a 100-point move. Those general guidelines still apply.

“In 22 trading days during October, the Dow posted 100-point-plus gains only twice, even as it closed at record highs 13 times. The gain on the 11 other record-setting days during the month averaged 29 points. On nine of those days, the average gain was just 19 points.”

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