Author Archive

Articles by Dean Starkman | Email the Author

 

1. The Audit

   “My Sources Say No”

   June 9, 2009 10:51 AM

   That's the answer I got when I asked Magic Eight Ball whether our beyond-worst-case financial catastrophe will result in effective financial regulatory reform. You try it. But the answer matched the feeling I'm getting reading the excellent reporting on... Continue reading

2. The Audit

   Settlement Closes the Book on a Nigerian Tale

   June 9, 2009 08:35 AM

   I, for one, enjoy a good civil trial. You never know what you might learn. The business papers this morning are reporting, however, that Royal Dutch Shell will settle a case accusing it of human rights abuses in Nigeria in... Continue reading

3. The Audit

   Bloomberg With Nice Details on UBS Tax-Cheating Service

   June 8, 2009 06:38 PM

   A cool story from Bloomberg pries some nice details from the tax-avoidance case that for the last few years has roiled UBS, a bank that hasn't had this much bad press since it settled claims of laundering funds... Continue reading

4. The Audit

   Guilty Pleasure

   June 8, 2009 03:13 PM

   I know it was last week's cover, but don't let my tardiness cause you to miss Steve Fishman's New York story on Conde Nast and its main duomo, Si Newhouse—lots of dish, beautifully written. Yes, there were some... Continue reading

5. The Audit

   When Mozilo Met Morgenson

   June 8, 2009 10:07 AM

   Before we get too far from the fraud charges the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against Angelo Mozilo last week, somebody ought to note journalism's role in all this. It is a mistake to believe that accountability and reform... Continue reading

6. The Audit

   The Sun, Times Follow the Subprime Muck

   June 8, 2009 08:35 AM

   The Baltimore Sun and New York Times recently gave some attention to under-reported social and class aspects of the mortgage crisis with stories on an 825-page amended predatory lending complaint filed by the city of Baltimore, including affidavits... Continue reading

7. The Audit

   Learning Journalism Lessons of the Past

   June 5, 2009 10:25 AM

   The Times this morning continues strong recent press performance on the busted-and-bailed-out banking industry's Golem-like resilience and continued potency in shaping public policy to its own interests. Today's story explores how the recently signed "Helping Families Save Their... Continue reading

8. The Audit

   Journal Remains Citi Scoop Central

   June 5, 2009 07:48 AM

   Ryan Chittum has now left the undisclosed location in the D.C. area (Langley) where he works to go on vacation. Audit readers are stuck with me for a while. UPDATED 11:40 a.m.: Actually, here's why we appreciate Chittum: While it... Continue reading

9. The Audit

   The List

   May 6, 2009 08:00 AM

   Welcome to the List, a comprehensive catalog of relevant stories produced by major business-news outlets on the lending industry and Wall Street during the run-up to the mortgage crisis. Click here to download.... Continue reading

10. The Audit

    No Pulitzers, But Here’s an Audie

    April 21, 2009 01:45 PM

    We don’t have anything to do with Pulitzers here at the Columbia Journalism Review, other than bask in their reflected glory. In fact, come to think of it, every time I walk by their offices upstairs I hear the sound... Continue reading

11. The Audit

    Speedy Kills

    March 23, 2009 03:58 PM

    Back in the summer of 2007, when the world was a cartoon version of today and Dow Jones & Co. was just a steaming leg of lamb in News Corp.'s thought balloon, media writers and other philosophers, including The... Continue reading

12. The Audit

    Listening to Kilgore

    March 2, 2009 12:07 PM

    Barney Kilgore, the inventor of the modern Wall Street Journal and, in important respects, the best of America journalism as we know it, died back in 1967. But he has something to say about journalism today, and we ought to... Continue reading

13. The Audit

    Ansberry’s Grim Tales of the Non-Retired

    February 23, 2009 02:49 PM

    I suspect I'm not the only one who read this WSJ story about workers in their 70s and 80s scuffling to find work flipping burgers and crowding community job centers to "retrain" and found my natural feelings of sympathy... Continue reading

14. The Audit

    A Nice Get On Stanford From the Chronicle

    February 23, 2009 02:44 PM

    This Houston Chronicle story from last week contains an interesting interview with a pair of ex-employees, who describe how their complaints about compliance problems were blown off by supervisors, leading them to bolt with their clients more than... Continue reading

15. The Audit

    NYT on WSJ

    February 23, 2009 08:54 AM

    The New York Times does a nice job keeping an eye on its downtown rival this morning, reporting interesting details on why News Corp. investors do not love newspapers as much as Rupert Murdoch does and are especially not... Continue reading

16. The Audit

    WSJ Widens Lead On Citi

    February 23, 2009 07:55 AM

    The Journal breaks the news that the erstwhile subprime leader is asking the government for more help with an idea of converting a big chunk of its current $45 billion stake from preferred to common stock: While the... Continue reading

17. The Audit

    FOIA Score: Fox 1 - Bailout Secrecy 0

    February 20, 2009 03:16 PM

    Fox Business News scored an important victory in the WOBS (War On Bailout Secrecy), when a federal judge in Manhattan ordered the Treasury Department to turn over details of its financial bailout of key financial institutions. As the News... Continue reading

18. The Audit

    Happy Presidents Day

    February 16, 2009 07:41 AM

    Ryan Chittum is off touring the Lincoln and Washington monuments in search of answers to the great economic questions of the day. He will be back tomorrow with a discussion of Revolutionary and Civil War-era TARP plans. Continue reading

19. The Audit

    Eisinger on Wilke

    February 13, 2009 03:39 PM

    Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos created a stir in journalism circles last week when he testified that he approached one of The Wall Street Journal's top investigative reporters, John Wilke, with the Madoff story in 2005 but nothing was done.... Continue reading

20. The Audit

    Attention Is Paid

    February 11, 2009 01:25 PM

    Sometimes it’s better just to keep it simple, and in that spirit I give Fortune credit for profiling several unemployed people and illustrating the story on its cover with a photo of a downsized training-firm executive and his wife.... Continue reading

1. « Previous
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
5. 4
6. 5
7. 6
8. 7
9. 8
10. 9
11. 10
12. 11
13. 12
14. 13
15. 14
16. 15
17. 16
18. 17
19. 18
20. Next »