The hiring of unqualified business reporters

Phil Hall of Business Superstar write about how some media outlets are hiring unqualified reporters to cover certain beats.

Hall writes, “In my opinion, the quality of business news suffers when important assignments go to people who, quite frankly, do not have the educational and professional backgrounds that would make them qualified for the jobs. This may explain why the texture of American business news is far less mature today – both in terms of style and substance – than it was a generation ago. And perhaps this can explain why so many people are turning away from traditional news sources and seeking out information via social media and other online outlets – or, even worse, through comedy shows that spin socioeconomic issues for cheap laughs. After all, who wants to read badly-written articles by reporters that may or may not know what they are doing?

“A few weeks ago, an executive at a financial company recalled being recently interviewed by a young and inexperienced real estate finance reporter who needed an explanation of how a mortgage works. The executive laughed while recalling the conversation – but, honestly, it is not funny. And the credibility of the media is suffering as a result of such poor personnel choices.

“As an aside, the publishing company that hired the yoga center receptionist to run a mortgage servicing magazine later hired a waiter with no previous reporting experience to join its editorial team, and that guy is now the editor of a cleantech news site. Would like some scrambled eggs and a side of hash browns with your morning news?”

Read more here.