Random Shots for Thursday, May 12
By Chris ClairGoing Dow-n
I know that Rupert Murdoch wants to turn the Wall Street Journal into a national newspaper along the lines of the New York Times, and I guess I can understand why. Ego certainly has something to do with it, as does his desire to provide a national print platform for conservative views, similar to what Fox News does over the airwaves. But to me, appropriating one of the world’s finest business publications, which has over the years featured some of the best writing in journalism, seems like the wrong way to go about it.
The pain of this awkward transition from national business journal to national newspaper is evident today. There’s little real news and little real business news on the Journal’s front page. Front pages are the clearest expression of any publication’s news values—what appears there is in theory what the publication considers most important.
Excluding the “What’s News” box, there are no strictly business stories above the fold. In fact, the Journal this morning looks more like a print version of Politico.com than the nation’s business newspaper, or even its national newspaper. Are the most pressing issues facing the United States right now Hillary Clinton’s campaign cash situation and Barack Obama’s successful fundraising?
Somehow it doesn’t seem like day-old political analysis is what Wall Street Journal subscribers are looking for before the trading day starts. Much more interesting from a Journal reader’s perspective, I would think, would be the story buried on page A6 about why Mrs. Clinton’s gas-tax holiday proposal never gained any traction.
At a time when more Americans are finding their news online, I think Mr. Murdoch may have seriously mis-judged America’s appetite for another national print newspaper.
Better Political Coverage
You’re damn right my vote is for sale.
Moody’s Blues
Meanwhile, in the “real” Journal (AKA the Money & Investing section), the paper leads with Brian Clarkson resigning as president and chief operating officer of bond rating firm Moody’s Investors Service. Why?
“Energetic and hard-driving, [Mr. Clarkson] earned promotions and encouraged Moody’s analysts to work harder at treating bond issuers better. Since bond issuers usually push for higher ratings and determine which ratings firm is used for a particular mortgage deal, Moody’s and other raters face pressure to use methodologies that lead to high ratings.”
Because, you know, it’s all about making the people who pay you happy so that they pay you more, as opposed to serving the broader markets. And that, as Hunter S. Thompson might have said, summarizes the credit crunch for people with seriously short attention spans.
Yesterday’s Quote of the Day
“I would never have imaged that a few hundred million dollars was an insufficient amount to retain somebody.” – Noam Gottesman, chairman and co-chief executive of GLG Partners, on the departure of portfolio manager Greg Coffey. Gottesman made the remark during an earnings conference call.
