Reporters Discuss ‘The Business of Business Reporting’ on Kalb Report

By Julia Parmley

Four of the nation’s top business reporters discussed the economic crisis and its effect on the practice of journalism with Marvin Kalb in front of a capacity crowd of GW students and other guests in the National Press Club Ballroom Feb 9. The Kalb Report—featuring Alexis Glick of Fox Business Network, Diana Henriques, B.A. ’69, of The New York Times, Steve Pearlstein of The Washington Post, and Ali Velshi of CNN—was part of the 2008-09 series focused on democracy and the press.

The panelists discussed the quality of business reporting and whether the media adequately covered the economic warning signs that began in 2007. Henriques said she believes the nation’s surprise at the crisis stems from an overreliance on the stock market as “the only meaningful barometer of the nation’s financial health.”

“There were serious problems with bonds and credits and mortgages that were developing in the fall of 2007,” said Henriques. “It wasn’t until the fall of 2008 that it began to hit the stock market. And that’s when too many Americans suddenly woke up and said, ‘My goodness, we have a crisis.’”

The panelists also discussed the complexities of covering such a rapidly changing scenario, including digesting massive amounts of economic information every day. Glick said she has to read more than 200 pages of research daily before her 7 a.m. show on Fox. “We’re in the type of news cycle now that if you miss what was happening for one hour, you can make some very dangerous calls,” said Glick. “So you have to be very, very careful about what you’re saying.”

When asked if this is the time to reform the American economic system, Velshi said the government’s financial regulatory system needs to be modernized and the consumer habit of buying on credit needs to change. “We’re going to have to figure out how you create wealth for people that creates an incentive for them to start businesses and invent products and do things so that they don’t feel like they’re working just for their hourly wage and don’t create more than they’re able to,” said Velshi. “That’s what we’re going to have to struggle to rebuild in the next couple of years. And we’re going to have to do it with a lot less credit than was available five or 10 years ago.”

Pearlstein said the recession is about “getting things right in balance.” “Things were so imbalanced... We were living so far beyond our means for so long that this adjustment is huge,” he says. ”We’ve only just begun the economic adjustment that goes along with the financial crisis.”

The panelists told the audience that a rich knowledge of history, business literacy, trends, and political science is imperative to succeed in business journalism.

“You need to have an inquiring mind,” says Pearlstein. “You need to be like a sponge. You need to ask good questions. And you learn by doing it.”

The Kalb Report is produced by the GW Global Media Institute in partnership with Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center, and the National Press Club and is underwritten by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. For more information, visit kalb.gwu.edu or call (202) 994-6463.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu