Mock op/ed The future of finance journalism

Like most people, the subject matter that is of most interest to me, is well…me! I am essentially an online finance journalist and find the fate of the trade is fascinating. What is the purpose of financial journalism and in what form is it most valuable and commercially viable? Since I am stranded in the office by a Spring downpour, I’ve decided to write a mock-op/ed for the New York Times, even though I have plenty of real stuff to do…. (As if the NYT would give me over 750 words!)


Jonathan Shapiro’s Mock Op-Ed in the New York Times, October 10, 2009

Providers of financial news are at a critical junction as they march deeper into the online era. The decisions that executives make today will either ensure their prosperity or cast them into oblivion.

Finance news is somewhat different to other forms of news. News generally consists of items of interest. While in many cases finance news is interesting, it is crucially something else –it is tradable. How and when and what information is disclosed influences decisions and asset prices and is therefore inherently valuable. This will never change.

What has changed is how this information is delivered. The sheer importance of financial information has meant that it will always travel quickly but the median in which it is being delivered continues to evolve with technology.

News and finance information can be divided crudely into two categories. Information can be facts/developments and opinion/insight. In most instances, it is in the financial system’s broader interests to ensure facts are divulged democratically which offers little opportunity for one provider to differentiate itself from another.

The objective of opinion or insight is to either anticipate facts or developments or interpret their meaning. Opinions should not have the same limits applied to them, they are merely the beliefs of providers to other observers and generally it is the responsibility of the reader to determine and pursue the opinions deduced from public facts, he or she finds valuable

Broadly speaking the online and print media aim to deliver both the fact and opinion desired by readers.

As an online journalist, the ultimate embarrassment is to be beaten to a story by the print media. This means the print journalist has discovered a development, typed it up, had it edited and sub-edited, sent it off to the printers, who have run thousands of copies, sent them to the trucks and to the paper boys and newsagents, who have then delivered the paper to the doors and stores of the city before I’ve had any idea of the story. An online or wire journalist can publish the same story inside five minutes of finding out about it and a print scribe is at a clear disadvantage.

It’s clear then that the print format cannot compete in terms of timeliness breaking fact. So then what are the benefits of the clumsy old press? Well it’s not dead yet. Printing is an expensive and time consuming process which in itself acts as a quality control. To use an analogy, compare the last e-card you used against the last wedding invitation you received. The copy also has to carry resonance that lasts long enough for it to be edited, inked and delivered. Also for the price of a coffee, it’s the equivalent of a PA printing off all the best bits of the day and adding some pictures for you to read with your coffee. Not to be discounted is the value and prestige of physical permanence versus fleeting light.


Some things work for print but most things work against it. The challenge the print media faces, in addition to being easily out scooped, is to consistently match online copy for quality of insight. This is where economics comes into play . While the value of online advertising remains opaque, the revenue from print adverts can sustain the old model for the time being by essentially funding better quality. But for how long? It’s hard to envisage anything other than a slow decline in the print media as information is delivered faster and better.

Online news providers are gradually stumbling on the subscription model to supplement erratic advertising revenue. They have come to realize that consumer will always pay for something that they either need or see as ‘value’, and there’s value in swift access.

In fact, access will always have value on many fronts. A media provider that is able to find facts that no-one else can or provide unique and original insight. Access is a virtuous circle in that a wide reaching net incentives newsmakers to engage with one provider over the other. Insight is harder to erect barriers around, but more difficult to sift through amidst the infinite blogosphere.

So what is the essence of value in finance journalism? In my experience it’s a combination of timely fact and quality opinion, and ideally a combination - timely opinion. This is the future of finance journalism. Sharp and insightful comment and analysis that helps readers understand the facts with greater speed. It is where the virtues of print and online media meet.