Loeb Award winner Rothacker talks about covering banking

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Charlotte Observer banking reporter Rick Rothacker won a Gerald Loeb Award last week in the beat reporting category for his coverage of Wachovia, the Charlotte-based bank that was sold last year to Wells Fargo.

Rotahcker, a Northwestern University graduate, joined the Observer in 1998 and became the banking reporter in 2001. He previously worked at Legi-Slate News and at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rothacker talked by e-mail to Talking Biz News about how he covers banking in a town dominated by banking stories. What follows is an edited transcript.

1. How did you get into business journalism?

It was pretty much by accident. I was a government reporter in one of the Observer’s bureaus and began covering a dispute over the county hospital system. The stories got good play in business, and when a job opened up on the business desk I applied. It turned out to be a great move. I’ve learned a lot about business, while still being able to cover a variety of topics and writing all types of stories, from breaking news to naratives to watchdog pieces.

2. You’ve been covering banking at the Observer since 2001. How long did it take you to get comfortable covering the beat?

I had to dive in right away because First Union and Wachovia were in the middle of a major merger, but it probably took a couple of years to feel like I was starting to get a grasp on things. Eight years later, though, there’s still a lot more to learn.

3. What did you do to learn the beat once you started?

I read clips in the archives, books about the banks, other publications, a textbook on banking. I also tried to meet as many people as I could on the beat. Probably the biggest thing, though, was just writing a lot of stories. The best way to get a grasp on a complicated topic is to try to write a story on it that makes sense to you and to readers. It also shows the companies you’re writing about and readers that you’re willing to put in the time and effort to cover the beat. This helps generate tips and sources.

4. Banking is so important in Charlotte in terms of jobs and the economy. Do you sometimes feel you’re missing stories?

It’s pretty much impossible to cover everything that’s going on in this beat. It can drive you a little crazy. Basically, you have to do your best to cover the basic stuff, jump on the scoops you can get and pick your spots on the bigger exclusive stories as time allows.

5. How do you develop sources within the banks?

It’s good to do every interview you can, even when it’s on a topic you’re less excited about, because you never know when you may want to talk to that person again. People who used to work at the banks can be helpful sources. When you’re the beat reporter, employees and others also know to contact you. You always can be doing more, though, to develop good sources.

6. When did you begin to realize that Wachovia was going to be a big story?

We had been covering the Golden West merger pretty closely all along, but early in 2008 we began to hear from employees who thought the bank was pressuring them to sell option ARMs. I knew some people had concerns about these types of loans, but didn’t know a lot about them yet. It also struck me that a bank that prided itself on customer service was having this kind of pushback from its own employees. Other reporters at the paper had done a lot of work in the past couple of years about the mortgage industry, so we knew it was an important topic. After the first story about option ARMs, I heard from a lot more employees and we knew we were onto something.

7. How cooperative was the company during the past 18 months?

On some stories, the company didn’t have a lot to say, but on others it provided helpful information. It was helpful to get documents and multiple sources for stories, so it was clear we had accurate information that we were willing to publish. It was also important to do our best to incorporate the company’s point of view in stories to show we were striving for fairness.

8. The paper has two reporters covering banking. How do you split up the duties?

We pretty much let news dictate our duties. When a breaking news story develops, the reporter who knows more about the subject, or hears about it first or is simply free to jump on it handles it. On some of the big stories, Christina and I both dive in. Our original theory had been that Christina would focus more on consumer-oriented news, while I would handle more corporate-type news, but with so much news going on, those lines blurred. DISCLOSURE: The other Charlotte Observer banking reporter is Christina Rexrode, a former student of mine.

9. What was the hardest thing about the Wachovia coverage?

Overall, it was just a heavy load of work that didn’t really let up much for a year. Early on, I heard a little bit from readers and even friends at the bank who felt we were picking on the bank more than others at a time when the whole industry was struggling. There are likely people who still feel that way, but I think events over the year showed that Wachovia had some particularly thorny issues.

10. With Wachovia being sold and no longer based in Charlotte, how does that change how you report the story?

It’s still a big story for Charlotte, so I don’t think we have changed our approach that much. There are maybe some smaller stories that we’re now more willing to run wires on, whereas in the past we would feel like we had to cover these stories ourselves since we were the hometown paper.

11. This is the second year in a row that the Observer has won a Loeb. Is there something in the newsroom that makes that happen?

Top editors encourage watchdog reporting and are willing to throw resources at big stories, when possible. There has also has been a focus over the years on the “master narratives” for the city — banking, growth, NASCAR, textiles, etc. These are the topics that it feels like the paper should own, and it’s probably easier to make the case when you have a good story on one of these big themes. It also takes editors and reporters and others willing to put in the late hours and extra time when a big story boils up.