Wallstrip covers new ground for business news

BusinessWeek’s Aaron Pressman noted in the latest issue that Internet site Wallstrip is gaining a following for those who want to get their business news in video form and online.

Pressman wrote, “But what really sets Wallstrip apart is its ambition in the business news arena. Wallstrip creator Howard Lindzon, a small-time hedge fund manager with an eye for Internet startups, is betting that a short, savvy, tongue-in-cheek approach will create a highly profitable niche among twenty- and thirtysomethings turned off by old-school business news. To further entice this hard-to-reach demographic, Lindzon enlisted a group of 10 financial and venture-capital bloggers to contribute regularly to the site. And he raised more than $500,000 in angel funding to create a slate of shows.

“Lindzon and his merry band are a radical departure from run-of-the-mill financial market coverage. The show takes a humorous slant toward most of its subjects and even runs parodies. A sketch featuring actor Khris Lewin wildly spoofing CNBC talk show host Jim Cramer garnered over 30,000 viewers, making it Wallstrip‘s most popular episode.

“Instead of focusing on price-earnings ratios and the opinions of Wall Street analysts, most episodes of Wallstrip zero in on a single stock that has recently hit its 52-week high. A recent episode filmed in New York’s Times Square, for instance, spotlights Aaron Rents Inc., which leases appliances and electronics to a mainly low-income clientele. The stock has jumped 25% in the past three months to an all-time high.

Read more here.