TA: Are you surprised that the press hasn’t circled back around to your report more? The ‘94 thing? There’s no institutional memory or something.
JB: Yes! Yes, I have been.
TA: Have you gotten called?
JB: No, not recently.
The Audit
12:54 PM - July 14, 2009
Audit Interview: James L. Bothwell
The author of a definitive ‘94 GAO derivatives report talks about industry pushback and financial-press complacency
#Realtalk: This isn’t another ‘golden age’ for print - But it is one for media
Social media in smaller markets - How three social media managers deal with smaller markets and more local coverage.
A rally for laid-off Sun-Times photogs - A protest Thursday morning drew about 150 picketers to the newspaper’s headquarters
Reporting, or illegal hacking - Scripps reporters are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Exchange Watch: California Dreaming - Low healthcare premiums on the West Coast were trumpeted as a big, good-news Obamacare story. But: “Compared to what?”
We’re the Uber of organ transplants
“Millennials need organ transplants that fit easily into their always-connected lifestyles”
‘What part of “Politico” do you not understand?’
A conversation about the dark art of driving the conversation
Julian Assange’s asylum stalemate no nearer resolution one year on
The Ecuadorean embassy’s celebrity refugee is used to living in what Assange likens to a space station as he battles extradition
The NSA story isn’t ‘journalistic malfeasance’
It’s a story that is evolving in real time
CJR’s panel discussion on coverage of gay marriage
On the eve of two related SCOTUS decisions, how should journalists be covering the issue?
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
Wow. Great interview. Let's take up a collection and send Bothwell on some kind of lecture tour. I'm only half kidding.
#1 Posted by edward ericson jr., CJR on Wed 15 Jul 2009 at 03:00 PM
Thanks for the positive comment Edward. I always said I prefer quality over quantity. It's not a bad idea either. Move over Al Gore, I am ginning up my own Powerpoint presentation on the rape of the U.S. taxpayer by Wall Street titans, And there is a lot more to tell...e.g. the FDIC guaranteeing Goldman Sachs' bonds and the bulk of the AIG assistance going directly to Goldman to make them whole on their swap positions. And them scoring record profits and record bonuses to boot! I wonder how that happened? But I guess that can be considered legitimate pay-for-performance. Afterall, it's not everyone who can get the U.S. taxpayers to absorb what otherwise would have been billions in losses for them. And Ryan even left my remarks about the GSEs (privatize or liquidate asap) on the cutting room floor!
#2 Posted by James Bothwell, CJR on Thu 16 Jul 2009 at 06:56 PM
I did indeed have to leave it on the cutting-room floor, alas.
Jim had so much good stuff to say that not everything could make it!
#3 Posted by Ryan Chittum, CJR on Thu 16 Jul 2009 at 08:25 PM
Mr. Bothwell, I am a friend of Alex's from Bucknell and she sent me the link... I want to thank you for your candid and honest interview. It was an absolutely fascinating read and very educational for a young finance professional like myself. I wish they would get you on a CNBC documentary or something! Thanks for your hard work and hopefully people will learn from your honest assessment of the current system!
#4 Posted by Kieren Detweiler, CJR on Fri 17 Jul 2009 at 02:02 PM
This is fantastic reporting. However, it's 2009...15 years later, as you note. How come it took so long to go back and review this critical area aka derivatices? This is historical reportage at this stage. Yet, it does qualify as "investigative," to be sure.
#5 Posted by Gregman2, CJR on Wed 22 Jul 2009 at 05:17 PM
This is fantastic reporting. However, it's 2009...15 years later, as you note. How come it took so long to go back and review this critical area aka derivatices? This is historical reportage at this stage. Yet, it does qualify as "investigative," to be sure.
#6 Posted by Gregman2, CJR on Wed 22 Jul 2009 at 05:18 PM
Thank you, thank you for such an insightful article/s! I was looking for information on derivatives and found the March 2009 article which led me to the GAO study and then found this article. Trying to be an educated American citizen is hard with a press that fails us so dramatically - thank you CJR for being there! I'm a history teacher and always looking for ways to expand my understanding on a number of topics and I'm going to share your articles with others. Congratulations on great investigative journalism. I feel letters to my Congressmen coming on!
#7 Posted by Linda Morse, CJR on Thu 23 Jul 2009 at 08:34 AM
Bothwell was part of the problem, he did not push more necesary Regulation. he warned regulation would push companies overseasm, Thus he was in league wiht Clinton and Morons.
#8 Posted by nick, CJR on Tue 27 Oct 2009 at 09:52 PM
Nick you are obviously a pathetic braindead bag of garbage. I've read over a hundred comments on the work of Bothwell and they range from excellent work to why can't we have this guy as president. Get a life.
#9 Posted by David Reynolds, CJR on Tue 29 Jun 2010 at 03:47 PM
Thanks for the support David. President? Maybe Treasury Secretary or Comptroller of the Currency is a better fit.
#10 Posted by James Bothwell, CJR on Fri 9 Jul 2010 at 02:38 PM
Please continue to be a beacon of light. Thank you for time and efforts to protect the taxpayer.
#11 Posted by laura london, CJR on Sun 2 Sep 2012 at 02:20 PM