Financial journalist featured in SmartWoman magazine

FOX Business' Dagen McDowell recently did an interview with SmartWoman magazine about her career as a financial journalist. In the interview she details what she is most passionate about in finance, being a woman in the profession and the troubled state of newspapers.

From the interview:

''Q: Did you ever feel that people in the financial industry
didn’t take you seriously because you are a woman?

McDowell: Early on I got a great piece of advice from my editor at Institutional
Investor. Don’t refer to anyone as “Mr. So-and-so” when talking to them. Call them by their first names. Don’t subordinate yourself. That always seemed to work.''

Murdoch foresees paperless future for WSJ, all newspapers

Media mogul and News Corp. chief executive officer Rupert Murdoch said Monday in an interview with FOX Business’s Neil Cavuto The Wall Street Journal could be paperless in 20 years.
Murdoch said he believes almost all news will be delivered either digitally via computer or on portable devices like Amazon's Kindle within 10 years.
While the newspaper industry is currently struggling to change its business model, Murdoch said he believes newspapers will endure. From the story:

“My feeling is that we hopefully hit a bottom here where things will be pretty stable from now on. Not as good as they were a little while back. It’s going to take time to climb out of it. That’s okay,”

View the story here.

What do you think of Murdoch's predictions and a potentially paperless WSJ? Tell us in a comment.

Business news has new significance

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that since the sink of the economy, viewership for business and financial news has risen, leading to the popularity of finance news and the journalists who cover it.

The story notes that national networks like CNBC, CNNMoney.com and Fox Business Network have all seen an increase in viewers since the Lehman Brothers filed for bankrupcy Sept 15, 2008.

And primarily female reporters covering the financial meltdown have gained esteem on the beat.

From the story:

"Sandra Smith, a reporter for Fox Business Network, has a less piggish take on why women reporters have stood out in the last couple of years.
'I think females can do a very good job of showing the softer side when covering these kinds of stories,' said Smith, who hails from Chicago. 'I can't tell you the number of victims I've talked to who have lost so much of their net worth. You can't just treat them like their only purpose is to fulfill a story.'"

FBN Stock Market Editor: "We're not going to hit bottom until 2011 or 2012"

In an interview with Woman Around Town, Elizabeth MacDonald, stock market editor at the Fox Business Network, shared her views on the economy, the bailouts and a future turnaround for the markets. MacDonald said she is pessimistic, and noted that she does not anticipate a market bottom until 2011 or even 2012. She said the bailouts, which were a product of "hysterical blindness," may not work. "I have lots of concerns including the impact of government's fiscal recklessness (which I should note also occurred under President Bush) and a potential national security issue now that China holds massive amounts of U.S. debt," she added.

MacDonald has the following advice for investors:

Start socking away your money in a decent bond fund with long-term bonds, not short-term debt instruments, which tend to be more volatile, and max out your 401(k). Save, save, save because the U.S. government is deeper into the economy than ever before. And your taxes and costs are going to go up.

MacDonald has received multiple awards for her business coverage, including the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business Journalism. Prior to joining FBN, she worked for Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

For more click here.

FBN host's early career goals had nothing to do with business journalism

In a TribLIVE interview, FOX Business Network host Eric Bolling discusses his life before joining FBN. It turns out business news was not Bolling's first career choice. Before becoming the host of FBN's "Happy Hour," Bolling was on track to become a professional baseball player. But an early-career injury ended his baseball dreams. From there, Bolling took a job at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and later a position as a trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange. His popularity and reputation grew thanks to regular appearances on CNBC, which ultimately led him to FBN.

In the interview, Bolling also shares his views on the Big Three, getting through the crisis and baseball.

For more click here.

Snippets: Murdoch interviewed on Fox News

Shareholders approved News Corp's purchase of Dow Jones today. Rupert Murdoch then appeared on Fox News.

Snippets from the interview...

• He plans to develop international editions of The Wall Street Journal.

• In regard to competition with The New York Times: "We are a long way in front now."

• Despite the success of the WSJ.com paid subscriber model, Murdoch talks of making the site free saying they'll cover the subscription revenue by increasing total online circulation (viewers) resulting in greater online advertising revenue. More eyes, more ad dollars.
  

• On how to get young people reading newspapers again: "Make newspapers better and more exciting."

• On making articles shorter: Murdoch wants to "keep the paper busy." Perhaps break stories in parts, "guts on the front page" and the rest inside.

• On Fox Business Network: "It's going well." Dow Jones and Fox Business Network will help each other.

Murdoch also talked politics and shared views on the writers' strike and its impacts on the industry.