Categories: OLD Media Moves

The ethics of NYTimes economics reporter Edmund Andrews

New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt addresses the ethical considerations behind allowing economics reporter Edmund Andrews to write about his personal money problems related to a subprime mortgage at the same time he covers economic policy for the paper.

Hoyt writes, “Baquet said he saw no conflict in Andrews’s personal situation and his beat, but he knew that some people would perceive one, so he tried to minimize the reporter’s involvement in ‘covering things directly related to the housing collapse.’ Andrews told me: ‘I shy away from articles about the pros and cons of this approach or that approach in aiding homeowners. I would have too much at stake.’

“But Baquet acknowledged they have not been rigorous about it. Andrews shared a front-page byline when President Obama announced his plan to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure. He wrote about details of the plan, demands by senators that foreclosures be delayed, and an agreement to freeze interest rates on some subprime mortgages.

“Andrews is an excellent reporter who explains complex issues clearly. There are plenty of them to cover without assigning him to those that could directly affect whether he keeps his own house. He is too close to that story.”

Read more here.

View Comments

  • Think Baquet knew about the serial bankruptcies of Andrews' wife, and the reason for their omission from the story?

Recent Posts

Dynamo hires former Business Insider executive editor Harrington

Former Business Insider executive editor Rebecca Harrington has been hired by Dynamo to be its…

1 day ago

Bloomberg TV hires Kerubo as desk producer

Bloomberg Television has hired Brenda Kerubo as a desk producer in London. She will be covering Europe's…

1 day ago

Jittery CNBC staff reassured by new boss

In a meeting at CNBC headquarters Thursday afternoon, incoming boss Mark Lazarus presented a bullish…

1 day ago

Making business news accessible to a wider audience

Ritika Gupta, the BBC's North American business correspondent, was interviewed by Global Woman magazine about…

1 day ago

Rest of World hires Lo as China reporter

Rest of World has hired Kinling Lo as a China reporter. Lo was previously a…

1 day ago

Bloomberg rises to No. 7 biz news website

Bloomberg News saw strong unique visitor growth to its website in October, passing Fox Business…

1 day ago