Morgenson: Better to be a biz journalist because of public information

New York Times business journalist Gretchen Morgenson spoke earlier this week at the Page One Awards in Minneapolis.

Here is an excerpt:

More important, if you want to gain respect inside the journalistic community and even from those you cover, that’s far easier to do by being a tough but fair reporter than it is by being a stenographer to CEOs. Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon may not like me, or what I write, but I’m pretty sure that they respect me.

I will concede, however, that it is far easier to resist the draw of access reporting when you cover business than it is for those covering Washington. That’s why I thank my lucky stars that I wound up a business reporter instead of the political scribe I had hoped to become all those years ago. I now know how clean business reporting is compared to political reporting because there is so much more public information available to help you tell your story even if a company or its chief doesn’t want you to. Regulatory filings are a goldmine for business reporters and they mean that you don’t have to rely for your information on powerful people who have a horse in the race.

Of course there are access journalists in business reporting. But the point is, you don’t have to be one. In Washington, it’s much tougher to stand outside the party with your nose pressed up against the glass and still be able to write about what’s going on.

Read her entire speech here.