I was watching a video of a Noam Chomsky lecture. One of the questions that was asked by one of the students who was attending, was where he would suggest to go to find accurate reporting.

His response was something interesting and, as a street addict myself, something I've noticed myself.

He said that the most accurate reporting to be found, and the papers that he reads first in the morning, are the business press publications.

Its not so surprising.

As an investor or trader or speculator you can't afford to have tunnel vision to the world. You literally can't 'afford' to be deluded to a great extent. If you are, you'll get washed out.

To an extent, your money rides on your ability to be objective, and to a greater extent, it rides on the facts that you hold.

Thus the business press, the wall street journal, business week, the financial times, my own internet favorite stocksatbottom, all have to be quite accurate in their reporting. You need to understand what's really going on in the world.

Of course, as Chomsky admits, the editorials are another story. They are generally very conservative, very pro-investment, often apologists for the economic elite and unwilling to admit any failure of capitalism. Of course they are, why wouldn't they be? Those are the institutions that pay the bills. It is the 'business press' after all. However the news reporting itself, what is going on in the world that will effect your investments - that isn't sugarcoated. It can't be. Your money depends on it. And so you get a reasonably accurate picture of what's going on in the world. Moreso then you do from the more conventional sources.


- posted by Sigurd7/31/2004 10:23:00 AM