Zach Tracer, a Duke University senior interested in business journalism, covered the 2011 Computer Assisted Reporting conference and filed a report on a session on tracking the economy and business.
Tracer writes, “Brooks said journalists need to watch municipal finance if they’re looking to catch the next financial crisis. He pointed to labor protests in Wisconsin as a sign of the troubles to come as state and local governments work to balance their budgets.
“‘It just begs for explanation, for numbers that are then interpreted,’ he said. ‘Every budget battle at the local level, every fight over how much we pay teachers or how much garbage taxes are going to go up are rooted in this.’
“To assess municipal finances, Brooks recommended reports from credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. He also pointed to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as source of information on municipal bonds. For experts, he said reporters can turn to the Pew Center on the States.”
Read more here.
