Financial news journalism: a post-Enron analysis of approaches towards economic and financial news production in the UK

Doyle, G. (2006) Financial news journalism: a post-Enron analysis of approaches towards economic and financial news production in the UK. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, 7(4), pp. 433-452. (doi: 10.1177/1464884906068361)

Abstract

The collapse of Enron and other corporate scandals have raised concerns about the efficacy of financial journalism. Based on research on where reporters get their ideas for stories and how they approach their work, this article explores the particular circumstances in which production of financial and economic news takes place. The author argues that, while reporters are generally highly sceptical about ‘spin’ and strongly inclined towards highlighting instances of corporate underperformance and mismanagement, the circumstances and constraints they work within nonetheless make it unlikely that financial irregularities obscured within company accounts will be detected on a routine or consistent basis. Moreover, the way in which the commercial sector is organized (with in-depth analysis generally confined to specialist media whose audiences are already financially literate) means that the task of facilitating a sound public grasp over the significance of financial and economic news developments is largely being neglected.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Doyle, Professor Gillian
• Authors: Doyle, G.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Journal Name: Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
• ISSN: 1464-8849
• ISSN (Online): 1741-3001
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications
• First Published: First published in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism 7(4):433-452
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher