Investigations: How Citigroup Engineered Its Own Mess

Some of the best-paid bankers in the U.S. "were overrated dopes who had no idea what they were selling, or greedy cynics who did know and turned a blind eye," says Thomas Friedman in this New York Times column on an interesting investigation by the same paper of how Citigroup masterminded its own mess leading up to the Panic of '08. "But it wasn’t only the bankers," Friedman adds. "This financial meltdown involved a broad national breakdown in personal responsibility, government regulation and financial ethics."

TAGS: markets, investigations

The Biz: DigiDave "Bullish" on Journalism, Calls for 10,000 Startups

Digital journalism blogger Dave "DigiDave" Cohn says he's "bullish" on the future of journalism. At least someone's bullish about something. The S&P 500 just broke down below the 2002 lows, so Cohn's optimism is a good antidote to that glum news. Here's his interesting column on the need for 10,000 journalism startups (of which he thinks two will become the new New York Times).

TAGS: future of journalism, interesting, the biz

Investigations: NPR Host, Guests Had Pharma Ties

Dr. Frederick Goodwin, host of a popular show on NPR, earned at least $1.3 million giving marketing lectures for drug makers between 2000 and 2007, reports this interesting blog item on Jim Romenesko's site, citing this New York Times piece. Especially noteworthy, reported a Slate article on the same controversy last May, is that Goodwin hosted an NPR show called "Prozac Nation: Revisited," which featured four guests who talked about how worries about a link between Prozac and suicide are overblown. All four guests also have financial ties with antidepressant drug makers, according to the report. As well, Goodwin's show, The Infinite Mind, itself has received "unrestricted grants" from one antidepressant manufacturer. Also interesting is the back-and-forth debate appended to the end of that Slate piece between an NPR producer, the NPR ombudsman and the Slate article's authors.

TAGS: pharma, investigations