Categories: OLD Media Moves

What will the happy biz media do in the future?

TheDeal.com executive editor Yvette Kantrow wants to know what perpetually happy business news media such as Fox Business Network and personal finance magazines will cover when the economy turns sour.

Kantrow wrote, “It’s a question not just for Fox Business Network, but for much of retail business journalism, notably the personal finance media, as it faces the end of yet another boom: What to do when dealing with money — investing it, spending it, even fantasizing about it — is no longer fun for large swaths of people, who, as recently as a year ago, believed their homes had made them rich, sort of. These days, the mere act of opening a statement — whether for a brokerage account, a high-yield savings account, or a mortgage — can send folks reaching for the Pepcid. So tuning into Fox Business, or CNBC, or picking up titles like Money or Smart Money can be as appealing as a trip to the dentist. Ten investments to make now? No thanks, we’ll take a root canal instead.

“How will the personal finance pubs respond to the current economy, with its tangle of recondite difficulties? In its March issue, Money tries to confront the situation head-on with a ‘special report’ on how to ‘recession-proof your life.’ It’s all pretty run-of-the-mill, commonsense kind of stuff, from ‘stock up on emergency funds’ to try to hold on to your job. Hey, good idea. But at least give Money points for realism, which also runs through the issue’s main event: a baby boomer’s ‘guide to financial freedom.’ Says Money, ‘Inevitably, the tailwinds that the economy has enjoyed for the past quarter-century will have to play themselves out, if only because the conditions that created them no longer exist.’

“Meanwhile, Smart Money takes a different tack in its March offering. Its cover story: What to do with a $100,000 windfall.”

Read more here.

View Comments

  • I can't respond to Ms. Kantrow's comments about how the economy is portrayed on the Fox biz channel as I am too cheap to pay for cable and don't watch it. But disagree that Smart Money magazine shoots and misses on its inheritance cover story. It's no secret that baby boomers stand to inherit a combined windfall estimated into the 10 figures from WW II era parents. My mom passed away four years ago next week, having been raised in the Depression by a widowed mother who never owned property or even a car. To call mom frugal would be an understatement and her estate reflected this propensity to save. I for one appreciated the coverage of this topic in Smart Money, to which I subscribe. I also recommend "The Wise Inheritor" by Ann Perry. Those of us who have buried both parents and have navigated life insurance, probate and estate sales would hardly refer to the experience as "cheery." Mainly owing to real estate appreciation, many boomers will find surprisingly large estates left by parents whose middle-class lifestyles were modest. My inheritance is invested in mutual funds that will some day pass onto my girls. Would that it bought one more year with a loving grandma whom they barely recall.

Recent Posts

Washington Post hires WSJ’s Strobel

The Washington Post has hired Wall Street Journal reporter Warren Strobel as an intelligence reporter. He will…

56 mins ago

Richmond Times-Dispatch seeks housing and real estate reporter

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is hiring a housing/real estate reporter to cover market trends, new developments…

2 hours ago

Graf joins Bloomberg’s leveraged finance team

Lauren Tara LaCapra, team leader for leveraged finance and private credit coverage at Bloomberg News,…

2 hours ago

The Logic doubled paid subscribers and traffic in 2024

David Skok, the editor of The Logic, writes about the progress of the Canadian business…

20 hours ago

Kynge departing FT after 28 years

James Kynge, the Europe-China correspondent at the Financial Times, is leaving the publication after 28…

2 days ago

Debtwire hires Nair as distressed debt reporter

Debtwire has hired Lavanya Nair as a distressed debt reporter. She is based in New York and…

2 days ago