Here is a list of the best critics today of business journalism. These rankings are based on my personal opinion from reading their writing for the past year. Feel free to argue.
The point of these rankings is this: The field of business journalism needs to analyze itself so that it can get better. Without such critics, then we’re going to fall back into the positive coverage that dominated the 1990s.
2. Yvette Kantrow, DailyDeal.com. I might have ranked Kantrow higher than Fuchs, but she only writes her “Media Maneuvers” column once a week, and then it’s hard to find. The only access to non-subscribers is through the Poynter Romenesko blog, and sometimes the link is not working. Still, Kantrow pulls no punches, and she is always on target. I particularly liked her recent analysis of the Fortune cover of Jack Welch.
4. The writers at the Business & Media Institute. This includes Ken Shepherd and Dan Gainor, as well as others. I might rank them higher, but their commentary is typically focused on the political aspects of business journalism, and they are always coming down on the side of free-market economics.
5. Brad DeLong, Cal-Berkeley. An economics professor and former Clinton policy wonk, DeLong’s blog includes some great criticism of economics reporting and how many journalists covering the economy fail to understand the nuances of what’s happening. My only criticism is that sometimes his posts are long, and he only focuses on economic coverage.
7. Columbia Journalism Review’s The Audit. I had such high hopes for this blog when it started last year. However, now I rarely read it. With such resources, I’d like to see something posted about business journalism on daily basis, but that’s not the case. And often, I find myself shaking my head at what is written. It often seems as if the writers don’t know business journalism. Kantrow, DeLong and Weiss have all criticized The Audit this year. More analysis and less smugness, please.
8. NewsHounds. This blog regularly attacks the coverage on Fox, which means it often posts about Neil Cavuto’s business show and the lack of business coverage on it. However, that’s all it does.
9. Watching the Watchers. This is a site that sometimes has good criticism of economics, but it’s mainly about politics. I wish there were more posts like this.
10. Media Research Center. I like the posts about the coverage of gas company profits, even though this web site says it’s dedicated to exposing the “liberal” media bias. Just wish there was more business-related.
Got one you like that I haven’t mentioned?
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You've criticized Forbes and Fortune for running lists, but now you've come up with your own list? Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Oh right, you called it a "ranking", not a list.
Julie,
Touche. You make a good point, and something I thought about before I posted my "list." Guilty as charged.
Thank you so much for this list. It is the first I have seen of its kind. An a financial investor, I have through bitter experience come to view pretty much the entire business journalism community to be mired in self-interest, and lack of honest reporting!
We often look to business columns to clarify the direction of the market, or to gauge the relevance of world and business issues. More often than not, I find commentaries to be biased - somewhere beneath the print are the true source of their particular slant. One way or another, journalists have sold out, compromised their views, and pandered to those that will somehow benefit their own personal financial destinies.
With this list at hand, I will seek out the opinions of these select journalists with the intention of personally gauging their biases. If they appear to be disconnected from the self-serving masses of journalists, I will use them to color my opinion of business world events, and how they will impact on my investment decisions.