Andrew explained the role of business journalists in uncovering fraud and corruption in the business world. He said that business journalists have discovered more fraud than federal regulatory agencies. He used a quotation from Mark Twain to demonstrate that the banking industry has not changed much over the years. Andrew Lackey wrote a book on Mark Twain’s ideas on business. Twain said, “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” Dante, too, had a place in hell for money lenders. In his Inferno he said, “Usury offends/Divine Goodness.” Andrew didn’t mention that, but I do since corrupt bankers have been around for centuries.
Andrew did encourage me to experiment in business journalism with my students. I’ll use a modified version of an example he gave. He said he gave each student a business to report on in 24 hours.
This type of reporting is important, Andrew said, because every family has felt some impact from the current economic crisis. He said that students today are prepared to write about business issues or issues involving money because they have lived through several monetary problems in their lives. These include the dot.com bust and the sub prime crash, and this generation has never lived without the computer, the Internet, cellular phones, and the ever-evolving technology. This generation may understand money better than previous generations because of the rapid changes in the economy and technology in their lives.
Andrew stressed that every story is ultimately a local story and that numbers enrich a story. Numbers quantify a story.
Andrew said that we teachers have the opportunity to help young people embrace the world as it is and to make a difference. We can do this by removing the fear factor from students and allowing them to write about things that matter, like business. He used the prices of gas, phones, and Internet access as examples. He left us with the idea to instill in our students the attitude of optimism.
I left Andrew’s talk with a sense of optimism and I plan to use some of his business journalism ideas with my students. What we learn or teach about business journalism will be good. As Andrew’s father told him, “What’s the downside of knowing that.”
Mark Salvatore
Saint Joseph Academy
Brownsville, Texas
Saint Joseph Academy
Brownsville, Texas
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I think sometimes that there are so many numbers swirling around us in the news that we forget to hang onto the ones that matter, or we choose to ignore numbers entirely--which is a big mistake. I know that, I, for one, let statistics fly in one ear and out the other. Unfortunately, I tend to pass this trait on to my students.
ReplyDeleteGrab and hold onto the numbers that matter, not the ones that have been crunched and distorted by new accounting methods each year. That's what I'll take away from Leckey's speech.