Don Mecoy, a business reporter for the Oklahoman, wrote Wednesday about his trip to New York last week for the Society of American Business and Editors fall conference.
Mecoy came away with the belief that business journalism in New York is much different than what he and other business journalists around the country practice because of location.
Mecoy wrote, “CNBC anchor Becky Quick addressed the reporters’ seminar I was attending and posed some interesting ethical questions about her employer’s role in reporting on and moving the markets. The network’s instant analysis format is designed to appeal to traders and speculators seeking the latest data.
“Unfortunately, as Quick’s sometimes embarrassing videos displayed, fast sometimes means wrong. On two occasions in the past month, Quick reported bad information in her haste to get the news out as quickly as possible. The network corrected the mistakes as quickly as possible, but Quick, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, admitted the experiences gave her pause.
“She also admitted that CNBC will rush to air to report on a stock that is suffering a big loss for no apparent reason. A lack of hard information is no reason to avoid exploring the situation, she said, and rumors are fair game.
“Traders watch and react to CNBC, which in turn watches and reacts to traders. Like much of what happens where the market rubber meets the road, it causes one’s head to spin.”
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