Traders dictate to the business media

TheStreet.com media critic Marek Fuchs writes Wednesday that it’s traders that often influence how the business media cover a story.

Fuchs wrote, “Now let me get to those beguiling traders — the power behind the press. With the market strong and technology traders feeling giddy throughout the day thanks to Apple’s earnings, Amazon was up strongly in Tuesday’s trading session. At 4:01 p.m., right after the market closed, Amazon reported. The first batch of news reports, either directly referencing or obviously influenced by Tuesday’s strong showing where Amazon was up 10% and got over $100 for the first time since the end of 1999 (before the dot-com crash), had entirely happy things to say. Check out these headlines: “At 4:06 p.m., MarketWatch from Dow Jones, ran with an excited: “Amazon.com earnings surge in third quarter.”

“Hot on its heels, also clocking in at 4:06, came an equally enthusiastic headline from paidcontent.org: “Earnings: Amazon Q3 Sales Jump 41 Percent; Income Soars.” The lead said it all: ‘The market was expecting big things from Amazon, and the company has delivered.’

“End of discussion, huh? Not exactly. See, Amazon was dropping in after-market trading. So by 4:26, we got this headline and subhead from CNNMoney.com: ‘Amazon: Good but not good enough. Web retailer’s earnings climb 313% from last year, citing low prices and free shipping; but stock falls after-hours.'”

Read more here.