Categories: OLD Media Moves

Why are there no biz reporters at the White House?

Hal  Morris, writing on his GrumpyEditor.com blog, wonders why business journalists are not in attendance at the White House when the president discusses the economy.

Morris writes, “President Barack Obama’s remarks about the economy at Friday’s news conference illustrates that more business writers should be in attendance asking questions, suggests Grumpy Editor.

“After the president mentioned, ‘We’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone.  The private sector is doing fine,’ not one news person in attendance raised an eyebrow — or hand seeking amplification.

“Later on Friday, after questions were raised outside the White House, Obama adjusted his ‘private sector is doing fine’ line by saying:  ‘It is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine.’

“As for the jobs statistics, the president’s aides came up with the 4.3 million figure based on the February, 2010, low point for the private sector.

“That ignored job losses in his first year at the White House.

“The latest employment report — for May — showed the economy added only 69,000 jobs.

“Despite all this, some news folks backed the president’s presentation.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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