Journalism Transformed

I embraced journalism for my major in part because I like writing, but also to avoid math and business. Apparently, the joke’s on me because business now reveals the news, says
Rob Insana, senior analyst at CNBC.

Insana visited SMU, and spoke as guest lecturer at the William O’Neil lecture Monday.

In 2006, Insana left the anchor seat for “Street Signs,” and now acts as head financial analyst, so he can pursue personal interests.

At the lecture, Insana focused on how financial markets move before major events, a topic addressed in his latest book, The Message of the Markets. Journalists may pick up on stories after the fact, but business investors know about financial or political events before they occur. Bottom line: if people want news early, watch the stock market.

Insana pointed to John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the First Gulf War to prove his point and urged future journalists to keep up with business. Because our culture is so economy driven, journalists can’t afford to be in the dark about the stock market and flourishing industries because that will lead them to news.

Insana’s warning threw me for a loop.

As a journalist student, I’m told to know what’s going on in the world by consuming news, write, and write some more. I know the media industry was shrinking and journalists sometimes get bullied into stories for business reasons. I did not realize I needed to embrace the business world voluntarily.

Of course business is important and newsworthy, but I never foresaw myself analyzing the stock market or having connections with major investors. I guess I better start learning.

I could rant and rave about the state of our culture if business dominates the news, but really there is no point. The arts won’t die—niche audiences, if not the mainstream, will demand that.

If more people want business related news, that’s fair. I guess I just wasn’t prepared to turn to them for the inside scoop. Maybe if I did follow our economy I would already know that’s where journalism was headed.