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Workshop Registration
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
Online Seminars
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
Hooked on Kindle
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
Say No to Offering Advice
By Chris Roush
April 1, 2008
Whether CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer did, or did not, tell his audience to get out of Bear Stearns stock earlier this month before it lost more than two-thirds of its value should be a lesson to all business journalists.
And the lesson is this: Never, ever give investment or financial advice to your readers, viewers or listeners. It can be wrong, and that hurts your credibility in future stories.
Now, let’s clarify what business journalists can, and can’t, do in terms of providing advice to consumers of business news – at least in my opinion.
I think it’s fine for personal finance stories that appear in business sections or business publications to provide advice to readers – as long as that advice is coming from an expert in the field.
Where business journalists get into trouble is when they offer advice without making it clear that the recommendations are coming from pros that know the area. Most of you know what I’m talking about. It’s the headlines that scream “The top 10 stocks to own for 2008” that cause my skin to crawl.
We’re all business journalists, and not portfolio managers, for a good reason. If we were good at picking stocks, then we wouldn’t be writing 12-inch stories for five-figure salaries. We’d be dumping millions of dollars into stocks that we’ve meticulously researched, and we’d be making seven-figure bonuses.
I see the same issue in many other personal finance stories. Work that advises readers about everything from how to purchase life insurance to managing 401(k) options. But most of the stories are written based on a handful of interviews and not any sort of special knowledge about the topic. Further, these stories are often too general to do the average reader any good.
There are few business journalists who can give sound personal finance advice and sound like they know what they’re talking about. If you want to read a few, check out Jane Bryant Quinn, Kathy Kristof and Michelle Singletary. The rest of you need to be quoting the experts giving the advice.
In other words, it’s OK to give readers stock picks a la Cramer as long as the recommendations are coming from professional investors and not the journalist.
And let’s be honest here about Cramer. He is a professional investor, not a business journalist. He may no longer actively buy and sell stocks, but that’s where and how he previously earned a paycheck.
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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009-10 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center registration for Fall 2009 free online seminars.
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
Say No to Offering Advice
By Chris Roush
April 1, 2008
Whether CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer did, or did not, tell his audience to get out of Bear Stearns stock earlier this month before it lost more than two-thirds of its value should be a lesson to all business journalists.
And the lesson is this: Never, ever give investment or financial advice to your readers, viewers or listeners. It can be wrong, and that hurts your credibility in future stories.
Now, let’s clarify what business journalists can, and can’t, do in terms of providing advice to consumers of business news – at least in my opinion.
I think it’s fine for personal finance stories that appear in business sections or business publications to provide advice to readers – as long as that advice is coming from an expert in the field.
Where business journalists get into trouble is when they offer advice without making it clear that the recommendations are coming from pros that know the area. Most of you know what I’m talking about. It’s the headlines that scream “The top 10 stocks to own for 2008” that cause my skin to crawl.
We’re all business journalists, and not portfolio managers, for a good reason. If we were good at picking stocks, then we wouldn’t be writing 12-inch stories for five-figure salaries. We’d be dumping millions of dollars into stocks that we’ve meticulously researched, and we’d be making seven-figure bonuses.
I see the same issue in many other personal finance stories. Work that advises readers about everything from how to purchase life insurance to managing 401(k) options. But most of the stories are written based on a handful of interviews and not any sort of special knowledge about the topic. Further, these stories are often too general to do the average reader any good.
There are few business journalists who can give sound personal finance advice and sound like they know what they’re talking about. If you want to read a few, check out Jane Bryant Quinn, Kathy Kristof and Michelle Singletary. The rest of you need to be quoting the experts giving the advice.
In other words, it’s OK to give readers stock picks a la Cramer as long as the recommendations are coming from professional investors and not the journalist.
And let’s be honest here about Cramer. He is a professional investor, not a business journalist. He may no longer actively buy and sell stocks, but that’s where and how he previously earned a paycheck.
Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism