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Articles by Ryan Chittum | Email the Author

 

1. The Audit

   Bloomberg (News) Takes the 2,3 Train to Wall Street

   May 29, 2009 05:19 PM

   Here's a great piece of watchdog journalism from Bloomberg, reporting that the Metropolitan Transit Authority sold a bond issue far too cheaply, enabling Wall Streeters to pick up immediate gains—ones that were essentially financed by federal taxpayers. Bloomberg... Continue reading

2. The Audit

   WSJ Keeps a Close Watch on the Wall Street Lobby

   May 29, 2009 09:43 AM

   The Wall Street Journal scoops that Wall Street is up to its old tricks. It's lobbying against greater transparency rules in the derivatives markets that would cost it fees. This story follows one two days ago in the... Continue reading

3. The Audit

   Pearlstein Hammers the OCC

   May 28, 2009 05:57 PM

   Steven Pearlstein wrote a brutal column yesterday on John Dugan, the Comptroller of the Currency. Dugan is complaining that FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair is making the banks pay more than smaller banks to shore up the regulator's insurance fund.... Continue reading

4. The Audit

   “Green Shoots” Are About to Get Swamped

   May 28, 2009 02:12 PM

   I get the sense that the press is becoming a bit too sanguine about the economy's prospects, something that could come back to bite it. True, no big shoes have dropped recently. The stock market has soared, and is... Continue reading

5. The Audit

   A Mightn’t Wind Blows at the Journal

   May 28, 2009 09:53 AM

   There's a noticeable tic showing up in Wall Street Journal copy in recent months. All of a sudden, the very non-American word "mightn't" is spreading through the paper like kudzu. For instance, in this story today on the faltering... Continue reading

6. The Audit

   Nut Says Moon Is Made Of Cheese, Bloomberg Reports

   May 27, 2009 04:39 PM

   The investor-guru story is an annoying staple of business journalism. These piece often report that "Bill Gross says this" or "Warren Buffett says that" without much context explaining that these guys are almost always talking their book, as they say... Continue reading

7. The Audit

   An Inoculation for Wall Street Outrage Fatigue

   May 27, 2009 01:24 PM

   After all we've learned in the last couple of years, are you still capable of being astonished at the behavior of bankers or have you succumbed to cynicism? Here's a nice test. The Wall Street Journal reports today that... Continue reading

8. The Audit

   The FT’s Kay Takes on “Too Big to Fail”

   May 27, 2009 09:39 AM

   Financial Times columnist John Kay writes one of the best-reasoned explanations I've seen for why "too big to fail" can't be tolerated. The essential reason is that these behemoths are unaccountable (emphasis mine): Liberal democracies of the modern world... Continue reading

9. The Audit

   A Slap-Your-Head Bloomberg Column on Newspapers’ Decline

   May 26, 2009 10:54 PM

   Kevin "Dow 36,000" Hassett, somehow has a column at Bloomberg. Occasionally I read it. As a media critic who writes about financial coverage, a recent column of his caught my eye with this headline: Failed Liberal Newspapers Earn Boot,... Continue reading

10. The Audit

    A Sin of Omission, Part Two

    May 26, 2009 01:55 PM

    New York Times reporter Edmund Andrews responded to criticism of his book, and the issue made it to the paper's Week in Review section in the form of ombudsman Clark Hoyt column. Both responses fall short. Andrews, remember,... Continue reading

11. The Audit

    Brooksley Born, Finally on the Record

    May 26, 2009 10:52 AM

    The Washington Post gets the first interview with Brooksley Born since the crisis started and gives it a good run. Born was the Clinton-era regulator (and one of the few heroes to emerge in this crisis) who fought tooth... Continue reading

12. The Audit

    A Sin of Omission

    May 22, 2009 04:25 PM

    Megan McArdle of The Atlantic digs up some embarrassing information on The New York Times's Edmund Andrews, and the scoop raises questions for him and for the Times. McArdle finds that Andrews, who reports on the economy, natch, didn't... Continue reading

13. The Audit

    Bloomberg Shines on TARP Repayments

    May 22, 2009 09:54 AM

    This is why you've got to love Bloomberg's Mark Pittman. He takes a story, grabs on to the taxpayer angle, and doesn't let go. All else is distraction. Today, Pittman reports that taxpayers are in for a $10... Continue reading

14. The Audit

    breakingviews, Broken Logic

    May 21, 2009 02:54 PM

    This breakingviews column just can't seem to make up its mind how to back up its assertion—perhaps because that assertion is so faulty. Robert Cyran and Rob Cox argue that legislation isn't needed to bring democracy to public companies... Continue reading

15. The Audit

    Former Head of Pension Insurer Pleads the Fifth

    May 21, 2009 11:14 AM

    Wow. The former head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Charles E.F. Millard, has pleaded the Fifth Amendment to a congressional panel inquiring into his alleged misdoings at the agency. That, along with news that the fund's deficit tripled... Continue reading

16. The Audit

    State Farm Is There (for Your Blog)

    May 21, 2009 09:45 AM

    The Journal looks at what's becoming an increasing issue: Bloggers getting sued for what they write. And it's not just a three-anecdotes-and-a-story piece, the paper's got actual numbers: Bloggers are increasingly getting sued or threatened with legal action for... Continue reading

17. The Audit

    The Audit on the Radio

    May 20, 2009 04:57 PM

    Audit host Dean Starkman makes an appearance on NPR's Talk of the Nation to discuss his giant story "Power Problem," out now in the new issue of the Columbia Journalism Review. It's about 12:30 in. David Wessel, The... Continue reading

18. The Audit

    BW Catches the Press Recycling Obama’s “News”

    May 20, 2009 04:24 PM

    BusinessWeek has a smart piece of analysis on how the Obama administration's message control is playing out in the press. The answer is: pretty good... for the administration. The headline and subhed telegraph the story well: Obama's Team Sticks... Continue reading

19. The Audit

    The Times Gets It Right (Today) on Credit Cards

    May 20, 2009 01:32 PM

    Gary Weiss notices that the Times shifts course on credit cards on page one today. It's a good thing they did. Yesterday's story on credit cards parroted industry spin that new legislation reining in its abusive practices... Continue reading

20. The Audit

    Obama Listens to Elizabeth Warren Even if the Press Does Not

    May 20, 2009 09:50 AM

    The Washington Post gets a nice scoop this morning on an actual good idea emanating from Washington: Setting up a consumer-focused regulator for everything from credit cards to mortgages. The Post does a great job handling this story, pointing... Continue reading

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