Comments on: The PhD in financial journalism http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/ A slice of lime in the soda Thu, 23 May 2013 23:51:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: DanHess http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-10308 DanHess Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:27:42 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/#comment-10308 "Certainly the trade press, where one finds a great deal of narrow expertise, failed utterly to grasp the bigger picture." Hear, hear!! There are extraordinary topics at hand. We are presently witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations, with stunning handoffs from nations of the past to nations of the future, with policy choices that help determine which group we are a part of. If you are a good financial journalist, you can help deliver play-by-play coverage of national and civilizational trends. These are buffetting us like crazy and if someone helps us figure out what is going on, we eat that stuff up! “Certainly the trade press, where one finds a great deal of narrow expertise, failed utterly to grasp the bigger picture.”

Hear, hear!!

There are extraordinary topics at hand. We are presently witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations, with stunning handoffs from nations of the past to nations of the future, with policy choices that help determine which group we are a part of.

If you are a good financial journalist, you can help deliver play-by-play coverage of national and civilizational trends. These are buffetting us like crazy and if someone helps us figure out what is going on, we eat that stuff up!

]]> By: absinthe http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-10294 absinthe Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:06:51 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/#comment-10294 Is your friend's ultimate goal here to be a professor of journalism or something like that? If that's the case, then his thesis should almost certainly assert that financial journalists should have more training, even if it's of the big-picture variety. Based on his first questions, he's already figured out that if he's going the academic route, he'll need to talk his own book. Is your friend’s ultimate goal here to be a professor of journalism or something like that? If that’s the case, then his thesis should almost certainly assert that financial journalists should have more training, even if it’s of the big-picture variety. Based on his first questions, he’s already figured out that if he’s going the academic route, he’ll need to talk his own book.

]]> By: Unsympathetic http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-10292 Unsympathetic Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:18:40 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/#comment-10292 Even if financial journalists all had degrees, there'd still be gaps because journalists fundamentally can't be as skilled as practitioners in *some* fields. NYT's Gretchen would still give rise to Tanta, for example. However, with financial degrees, journalists would have the cred to call out the morons who trot out cliches that just aren't true.. such as the Republican blind faith in "free" markets, the EMH, and the bottomless spending power of the American. At one point journalists did have the self-confidence to do such things.. but that's a relic of long ago. The downside of a "financial journalist" is that the title does nothing to stop the corporation which demands their on-air "talent" speak up for certain positions that are less than optimal. I'm looking at you, CNBC and FoxNews. Even if financial journalists all had degrees, there’d still be gaps because journalists fundamentally can’t be as skilled as practitioners in *some* fields. NYT’s Gretchen would still give rise to Tanta, for example.

However, with financial degrees, journalists would have the cred to call out the morons who trot out cliches that just aren’t true.. such as the Republican blind faith in “free” markets, the EMH, and the bottomless spending power of the American. At one point journalists did have the self-confidence to do such things.. but that’s a relic of long ago.

The downside of a “financial journalist” is that the title does nothing to stop the corporation which demands their on-air “talent” speak up for certain positions that are less than optimal. I’m looking at you, CNBC and FoxNews.

]]> By: MattStiles http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-10291 MattStiles Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:20:55 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/#comment-10291 Interesting topic. I began writing myself because of the utter disdain I developed toward most financial journalists. The idea of institutionalizing these practices further is repulsive to me. However, it doesn't have to such a negative. A lot of progress could be made if provocative questions like the above were investigated thoroughly. I'd like to know how it became acceptable to use financial industry insiders as sources for information pieces, given their very obvious biases. Furthermore, how are expectations of market participants influenced by "predictions" by said insiders disguised as information? Have much disputed economic theories (such as EMH) been adequately questioned by the financial media, or is its simplicity merely too convenient for journalists to communicate complex financial matters to the generalist audience? ie. has the journalistic "model" contributed to an unwarranted acceptance of economic theories that otherwise would not stand up to intellectual scrutiny? Interesting topic. I began writing myself because of the utter disdain I developed toward most financial journalists. The idea of institutionalizing these practices further is repulsive to me.

However, it doesn’t have to such a negative. A lot of progress could be made if provocative questions like the above were investigated thoroughly.

I’d like to know how it became acceptable to use financial industry insiders as sources for information pieces, given their very obvious biases. Furthermore, how are expectations of market participants influenced by “predictions” by said insiders disguised as information?

Have much disputed economic theories (such as EMH) been adequately questioned by the financial media, or is its simplicity merely too convenient for journalists to communicate complex financial matters to the generalist audience? ie. has the journalistic “model” contributed to an unwarranted acceptance of economic theories that otherwise would not stand up to intellectual scrutiny?

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