Summary:Thanks to a growing interest in economics and finance around the world, the reporting on these subjects by journalists has also grown -- in quantity, but not necessarily in quality, a group of panelists said Wednesday night.
While some excellent reporting has emerged in the financial press in recent times, there also have been notable lapses, such as the failure to predict the Asian financial crisis of 1997, some panelists said.
Part of the reason economic reporting isn't better is what Mortimer Zuckerman, publisher of U.S. News & World Report, called the "financial literacy" factor.
"The public doesn't know much about business, economics and finance, except things that directly affect their lives" he said. "Those of us in journalism understand these limits."
Others agreed that it is difficult to make economics interesting or even understandable to the general public, which affects the quality of reporting, but there are many media - such as The Wall Street Journal, that do excellent work. In general, specialty financial media do a good job, but general-interest media do not, several said.
"Coverage of economics isn't that bad," said Peter Passell, editor-in-chief of The Milken Institute Review. "It's that coverage of economics in broadcast media, in broad-based, mass-market media is bad. If you want specialized economics news, there are plenty of places to get it."
Nigel Holloway, deputy editor of Forbes Global, said economic reporting has come a long way in his more than 20 years as a journalist.
"One of the major changes is how economic journalism has entered the mainstream. It's no longer on the periphery," he said. "And that is simply a reflection of the importance of economics, business and finance to everybody's lives."
Also on the panel were James Glassman, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post; Kenji Hanyu, vice president and director of economic news for the Tokyo Broadcasting System; Hamish McRae, deputy editor of the Independent; and Claudia Rosett, a member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board. Joel Kurtzman, publisher of The Milken Institute Review, moderated.
