The Audit

Bill Black, Media Critic

And a good one, at that.

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 21, 2010 at 06:44 PM

Now here's a lede The Audit can get behind: If it wasn’t already blindingly obvious that pervasive fraud was at... More

Don’t Be Evil, Google

Bloomberg finds the tech giant is tops at using sketchy schemes to avoid taxes.

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 21, 2010 at 12:47 PM

Bloomberg has a superb story out today exposing how tech giants, and particularly Google, are exploiting loopholes to avoid paying... More

The Plot Thickens at the CFTC

A judge accuses another judge of improprieties. But there’s more to the story.

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 20, 2010 at 09:37 PM

Say what? The Washington Post has a brief story reporting that one of two administrative judges at the Commodity Futures... More

The Landscape of the Foreclosure Scandal

Good reporting finds plenty of nondelinquent borrowers caught in a nightmare

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 20, 2010 at 03:59 PM

So what does it look like when the foreclosure fraud machine rolls over homeowners who aren't even in default? Remember... More

Colvin and Fortune’s Big Business Baloney

Swashbuckling titans of industry “paralyzed” by the threat of regulation

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 20, 2010 at 10:19 AM

Fortune again. This time it's Geoff Colvin, passing along the Chamber of Commerce line that "Uncertain of future regulation, businesses... More

Audit Notes: Feds Sniff Around, Hiltzik on Irani, Robosigners Plus

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 19, 2010 at 07:13 PM

The Washington Post scoops that the feds have opened up a criminal investigation into the foreclosure scandal, "examining whether financial... More

Fortune Writer Steps Up for the Banks

Picking apart an apology for the foreclosure scandal

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 19, 2010 at 06:34 PM

I criticized some journalists the other day for perpetuating the silly bank spin that the foreclosure fraud scandal is a... More

The Journal Hits Facebook Again on Privacy

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 18, 2010 at 12:38 PM

The Wall Street Journal continues its excellent privacy series and unleashes another PR headache for Facebook, which is allowing third-party... More

Audit Notes: The Clayton Angle, NYT Savvy, AP on Robosigners

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 15, 2010 at 07:50 PM

Felix Salmon and William D. Cohan pound on the Clayton Holdings story, which popped up again last month at a... More

The NYT On the Case That Started It All

Excellent story conception and execution on GMAC’s bungled foreclosure

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 15, 2010 at 12:08 PM

The New York Times has a great angle on the foreclosure scandal: Go back to the homeowner that broke it... More

Audit Notes: Little Or a Lot, WSJ Hype Fail, Access Problem

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 14, 2010 at 09:10 PM

The Washington Independent's Annie Lowrey calls bull on Jamie Dimon: On the J.P. Morgan Chase earnings call, Dimon promised that... More

Why Care About the Banks’ Foreclosure Scandal?

The blame-the-borrowers spin has begun

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 14, 2010 at 08:09 PM

The pushback on the foreclosure scandal has already begun along predictable lines and amongst the usual suspects. It's blame the... More

The FT Gets Into the Game on Foreclosures

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 14, 2010 at 01:12 PM

The Financial Times has a good piece of reporting on page one of today's paper that advances the ball on... More

Audit Notes: Foreclosure Mess, Wall Street, Dummies

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 13, 2010 at 08:01 PM

The New York Observer's Max Abelson has done some of the better reporting on How Wall Street Thinks. It's "let... More

What About Lending Fraud?

The foreclosure scandal offers the press a chance to revisit an undercovered story

By Ryan Chittum   Oct 13, 2010 at 01:57 PM

Bloomberg News does what I wish more of the press would do when reporting this foreclosure scandal story: Ask what... More