Mason is "broadcast journalist of the year"

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman named CBS financial correspondent Anthony Mason as the broadcast journalist of the year for his explanatory reporting on the financial crisis.

Friedman writes, “Night after night, Mason took pains to help his viewers understand what was unfolding on Wall Street and in Washington — and, most important, why they should care when a powerful company in New York such as AIG blows up.

“Television news shows thrive on flash and glitz — the car chase, the snapshots of the war, the dramatic speech on the stump by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain or a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass.

“But economic news, no matter how significant it may be, doesn’t usually rank high on the list of dream stories for a network correspondent. It’s notoriously difficult to present these stories in a colorful way, unless a news show resorts to cliché images like showing a pump at a gas station or people waiting in line at an airport.”

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