Talking to Main Street about Wall Street: how the media are covering the financial crisis

By
Maryanne McNellis

As journalists we have an obligation not to fuel the flames of panic as this economic tsunami spreads through global markets. One way to temper the fear that’s out there is to make sure our reporting is as clear and objective as possible. Don’t pick up a torch and join the mob.

Just how well has the press been doing so far? The answer depends greatly on which segment of the press you are talking about. Some media outlets are doing great, others are mediocre and still others are appalling. There are even media entities that will be able to use this sudden public obsession with business news to grow their circulation or viewership and position their web sites to become the click magnets of tomorrow.

Maryanne McNellis, the Pollner Distinguished Professor at the University of Montana, speaks to the issue of press coverage of the current economic crisis in a speech she gave in Montana on October 20. Read the full text of the speech.

Maryanne McNellis was formerly President of the National Edition of the Los Angeles Times; VP/news and Editorial Director of the Financial Post; Editor of the Financial Post Magazine; and a longtime foreign correspondent and Bureau Manager for Business Week magazine. She was also the founding editor of Investor’s Business Daily and editor of Adweek
Magazine.