The BBC has published one of its fairly regular reviews of economic coverage and finds that it is hamstrung by the ignorance of journalists. Not the staff of the Economics and Business unit where I worked for 30 years but of the generalists who work elsewhere.
This is in my opinion spot on. I always found the relationship with other hacks difficult not least because they would openly boast that they knew nothing of business or economics, thought it boring and didn’t see why they should cover it. Thanks.
There were business slots for that kind of thing, I know I used to present the Today programme business slot many years ago and the rustle of the newspapers as the other presenters totally ignored me and got on with their reading was soul destroying, and audible at home.
More widely, if I has as ignorant of politics or international affairs as other journalists boast they are about economics I would have been fired. In fact I often found I knew more about these subjects as well, generalists are lazy.
But the most annoying habit was to lead the news at 10 am with the latest trade or inflation figures and by 1800 find the lead story was the political reaction, because it was “newer” or reporting the facts first was a bit “stale”. Then having to report the facts in the second story when the reaction had already been broadcast was just stupid and must have confused listeners no end.
The fact that the vast majority of the 1800’s audience hadn’t heard the news so far that day and knew nothing about the figures was apparently irrelevant, a couple of rent a quote statements from Westminster and the political correspondent had the lead story and then quite often totally failed to report it correctly or well.
Given the current state of the country and how much of its problems are economic, you might think this mindset would change. But all the time I hear senior presenters of flagship programmes make common errors, stupid assumptions, swallow obviously ridiculous lines, and be blind sided by politicians inventing stats and spouting obviously impossible theories.
Some even have degrees in PPE, one can only assume they concentrated on politics and philosophy.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media
I totally agree with you on this. As someone who's recently developed an interest in the economy, and who bothers to check the facts, I find myself shouting at the radio sometimes when a politician comes up with a clear lie or misleading stat and isn't challenged. It's no wonder many people carry on oblivious to the complete mess we're in, if they hear Sunak or Hunt telling them we're the best performing country in the G7 over a carefully selected, but irrelevant, period and it goes unchallenged.