The Deal.com Executive Editor Yvette Kantrow criticized the coverage in The Wall Street Journal last Friday of talks between property & casualty insurers Zurich and Minnesota-based St. Paul Travelers, noting that the company took the unusual step of issuing a press release earlier this week to say the story was incorrect.
“The Journal sought to give its report front-page importance by intoning that the St. Paul-Zurich talks ‘are the latest sign of ferment in insurance,’ which it then discusses for a mere three paragraphs. Clealy, the story’s real raison d’etre appears to be its head-turning merger scoop, which also serves as a convenient trial balloon for any St. Paulies who might be fantasizing about such a deal. (Perhaps St. Paul execs are holding talks about merging with Zurich, but only among themselves.)
“The funny thing, however, is that a story like this one could help spark merger talks just by putting the idea out there. So who knows? Perhaps one day, St. Paul and Zurich will prove the Journal right. But that wouldn’t be scooping the news; that would be causing it.”
Read her column here.
Writing about deals before they are announced is always a tricky situation. The deal could fall through, and the media outlet is left out to dry. Or the companies could deny that they are talking even though they are to gauge opinion about the deal.
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