Good news in the news business (really!). Reuters tells PaidContent it’s committing more resources to longer-form enterprise reporting as part of a revamp aimed at consumers. Hmmm, more coverage like this story today from Matthew Goldstein and Svea Herbst-Bayliss? Yes, please. (h/t NiemanLab)
— The New York Times focuses on Citigroup as the last Wall Street bank still owned in part by Uncle Sam, after Bank of America paid back its $45 billion of TARP money so it could go on paying executives tens of millions of dollars. It seems unlikely Citi can or should do the same.
And the press needs to pay close attention to BofA and whether it was prematurely let out of the doghouse. Here’s The Wall Street Journal‘s Matt Phillips with a smart catch on that, noting an S&P ratings affirmation note:
“We consider BofA to be highly systemically important and therefore continue to believe that BofA would receive extraordinary government support if necessary, though we do not believe such support will be needed.”
No need to worry, creditors! Still think the too-big-to-fail banks shouldn’t be broken up?
— BusinessWeek looks at social-media “snake oil salesmen.” Watch out for folks spouting guruspeak and asking for consulting contracts and speaking fees.
Hordes of marketing “experts” are promoting the value of wikis, social networks, and blogs. All the hype may obscure the real potential of these online tools
The same could be said about the news business, where it sometimes seems the last thing anyone talks about is actually picking up the phone, calling sources, and writing stories.
Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR’s business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.