David Folkenflik of NPR looked this morning at how the media performed in the runup to the crisis, and The Audit’s own Dean Starkman is included in the piece, arguing that the press failed.
Here’s how Folkenflik summed up his own review of the coverage:
I found the weight of coverage fixated on executive suite intrigue and outsize corporate personalities, especially in the magazines’ cover stories. In addition, news outlets, like the rest of the country, often focused on the vagaries of the stock market, as hedge funds and retirement funds seemed to soar in unison. Dissonant voices about the vulnerabilities of the system were heard on CNBC and in print, but they were largely swept aside as part of a greater conversation about how to keep investing.
That last sentence is what my last post was about.
Take a listen or read the NPR transcript here.
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.