Contributors include:
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics
Anya Schiffrin, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times
Barry Sussman, Nieman Watchdog
Dean Starkman, Columbia Journalism Review
Maureen Tkacik, formerly of Wall Street Journal and Jezebel
Steven Schifferes, City University of London
Robert Giles, Nieman Foundation
Christopher Roush, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics
Anya Schiffrin, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times
Barry Sussman, Nieman Watchdog
Dean Starkman, Columbia Journalism Review
Maureen Tkacik, formerly of Wall Street Journal and Jezebel
Steven Schifferes, City University of London
Robert Giles, Nieman Foundation
Christopher Roush, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bad News
How America's Business Press Missed the Story of the Century
Edited by Anya Schiffrin
paperback
$18.95
Now in paperback: Leading scholars and journalists—including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, The Columbia Journalism Review's Dean Starkman, and New York Times business writer Peter S. Goodman—assess the media's failure to see the financial crisis coming
There are three 24-hour financial networks. All their slogans are like, “We know what’s going on on Wall Street.” But then you turn it on during the crisis, and they’re like, “We don’t know what’s going on.” It’d be like turning on the Weather Channel in a hurricane and they’re just doing this: [shuddering] “Why am I wet?! What’s happening to me? And it’s so windy!”
—Jon Stewart
—Jon Stewart
As the recent U.S. financial crisis unfolded, journalists struggled to keep up with the biggest story of the century. After the markets unraveled and the economy began spiraling downward, reporters raced to cover an unfamiliar cast of characters and an alphabet soup of derivatives and toxic financial instruments. And in this midst of this collapse, ironically, the business of journalism itself hit the rocks, as the mainstream media grappled with collapsing ad revenues and falls in circulation.
Faulted for cheerleading coverage that helped create the bubble, the business media came under siege from commentators across the political spectrum—epitomized by Jon Stewart’s now-famous attack on James Cramer for his uncritical coverage of Bear Stearns and other financial giants. Did the press fail in its critical role as it gave into the irrational exuberance that fed the bubble itself? How do we explain these failures?
The role of the business press in the current crisis strikes at the heart of the heated debate about the media’s role as guardians of our democratic society. With contributions—all but one original—from leading journalists and academics at the forefront of this issue, Bad News is the first attempt to navigate through a controversy that will be studied for decades to come.
Anya Schiffrin is the director of the media and communications program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She spent ten years working overseas as a journalist in Europe and Asia. She lives in New York City.
Faulted for cheerleading coverage that helped create the bubble, the business media came under siege from commentators across the political spectrum—epitomized by Jon Stewart’s now-famous attack on James Cramer for his uncritical coverage of Bear Stearns and other financial giants. Did the press fail in its critical role as it gave into the irrational exuberance that fed the bubble itself? How do we explain these failures?
The role of the business press in the current crisis strikes at the heart of the heated debate about the media’s role as guardians of our democratic society. With contributions—all but one original—from leading journalists and academics at the forefront of this issue, Bad News is the first attempt to navigate through a controversy that will be studied for decades to come.
Anya Schiffrin is the director of the media and communications program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She spent ten years working overseas as a journalist in Europe and Asia. She lives in New York City.
Spring 2012
paperback
5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 240 pages
978-1-59558-772-5
paperback
5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 240 pages
978-1-59558-772-5
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