WSJ's Money & Investing section needs fresh blood

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Dean Starkman writes on The Audit blog that the new editors in charge of the paper’s Money & Investing section need to infuse it with some new energy.

Starkman wrote, “But too often lately the page has felt phoned in. The ‘Heards’ lack edge (see: ‘Even Now, Big Miners Dig Away’) or deal with companies that don’t matter (‘Quicksilver Asks Investors to Hang In.’ Quicksilver is a skateboard maker with a market capitalization of $1.4 billion, which is about what Citigroup spends annually on sushi. Its closest competitor, we are told, is the nimble yet formidable Volcom Inc. Who cares?) I found a headline that may have been written one million times, (‘It’s Small World, After All,’ about small stocks); unsurprising display stories (‘Fine Wines No Longer Just Tempt Collectors,’ about investing in wine, which is not new); or others that just feel random (‘Japanese Addiction: Currency Bets’).

“Yes, of course, there is excellent work: ‘SEC Now Takes Hard Look at Insiders’ ‘Regular’ Sales,’ a follow-up to the options-backdating coverage; ‘Subprime Game’s Reckoning Day,’ predicting – accurately – growing problems in that market; ‘No Worries: Banks Keeping Less Money in Reserve,’ a seriously useful story given today’s deteriorating credit climate; a timely profile of Timothy Geithner, the New York Federal Reserve president, who is charged with minimizing systemic risks posed by hedge funds and others outside the Fed’s jurisdiction; a look at a major oil producer’s recent stumbles, ‘BP’s next Slogan: `Beyond Probes.’

“And — fine! — today’s section is excellent. One story — ‘Can Asia Control the ‘Hot Money?’ — looks at efforts to impose anti-meltdown controls (though I would quibble with the idea that the efforts are a ‘step back’ from an openness trend; how about ‘a refinement?’). And the piece on famed vulture investor betting on a weak housing market, ‘Why Icahn Is Betting on WCI’s Florida Condos,’ would only be of interest to every homeowner and would-be homeowner.”

Read more here. Starkman is making The Audit a must-read.