The New York Financial Writers Association held its 68th annual Financial Follies on Friday, Nov. 20, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, and more than 1,000 business journalists, PR folk and corporate executives attended.

The intrepid New York society correspondent for Talking Biz News filed this report:

“As a relatively new member of New York City’s financial press, I was eager to attend the Financial Follies, the financial media’s ‘premier event’ (according to their Web site) and see what the hell it was all about.

“Ultimately, it’s a little hilarious that the event is called the ‘follies,’ assessing some of the damage people caused throughout the night, but hats off to the New York Financial Writers Association for throwing together quite the party.

“I made my way to the Marriott Marquis at 7:15 p.m., having missed 45 minutes of the cocktail hour, which ended up being alright since I didn’t end up paying for drinks at the cash bar before consuming copious amounts of free wine at the dinner table. The cash bar was, unfortunately, strike one, as I heard drinks have been free in past years. I guess the economy still has some work to do before that’s a recurrence.

“In the Follies’ favor, it was pretty fascinating  to see all the reporters looking dapper in tuxedos and dresses sans frantic looks/dark circles under the eyes/cups of coffee in hand –- we actually looked like a group of PR people. Anyway, I took my seat at my table, where I was the guest of one of the exchanges, and embarked on some wine to make meeting my dinner buddies a little less awkward.

“Throughout salad and soup — the food, by the way, was fantastic — the NYFWA and others performed skits and sang songs poking fun at financial news items throughout the year. Some of them were kind of funny, but most gave me that sinking/crawling feeling you get while watching something horribly embarrassing happen to another person, i.e., most things Michael Scott does on the Office.

“The first song, which made a very lasting first impression, was  ’Smooth Criminal,’ making fun of Bernie Madoff’s sexual shortcomings. A sample of the lyrics: ‘Bernie, why the Ponzi/ You were so cool, like the Fonzi/Was it just for the payday?’ Some groans followed that one.  

“A song joking about the government’s automaker’s bailout followed, to the tune of ‘Drive My Car’ by the Beatles. The chorus was a little bit better: ‘Big Three you can still make cars/We’ll appoint a dozen Czars/The Economics work on Mars/But we’re gonna fund you.’

“Another sampling, to the tune of Ned Washington’s ‘Rawhide’: ‘We’re Goldman Goldman Goldman/Though the world is broken/We keep profits flowin’/Worldwide.’

“To be fair, CNN and CNBC put together a pretty funny skit featuring the famed Balloon Boy that seemed to get the most positive reception throughout the room, but it was kind of a relief when the skits were over so the guests could focus on the fantastic espresso-rubbed filet mignon that was part of the main course.

“I know they weren’t trying for Grammys or anything, but that Fonzi line…

“As dinner progressed, bottles of wine were fast emptying at tables throughout the room. Judging by the minimum of 10 my table of 12 zipped through, I’d say most of the 1,000-plus guests were doing exactly what a Wall Street Journal reporter sitting near me suggested: ‘Let’s get WASTED!’ Nice.

“As dinner wound down, people made their way upstairs for an after party sponsored by…I’m not sure. All I know is that as I walked in, there was a big sign that said ‘Siemen’s Liquidity Lounge’ and I cracked up like a 12-year-old. What? I told you I’m young. At least one business journalist got cut off at the bar. No big surprise there. A DJ was spinning wedding-type tunes, and beer and liquor from the open bar quickly extinguished any reservations finance executives — guys from LPL Financial and PNC, in particular — had about getting down.  

“Who knew the financial press had such sweet dance moves?”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Among the business media outlets buying tables were Bloomberg News (two tables), Thomson Reuters and CNBC.com. Of course, the PR firms and companies bought most of the tables to wine and dine the reporters. 

Mandel writes, “To my friends at BusinessWeek, both old and new: We had a fantastic run, and I loved working with you all. Sometimes we were good, sometimes we were great, but we always had integrity and soul (yes, that’s the word I mean).

“To Norm, Josh, and all my BusinessWeek friends who are going over to Bloomberg: Good luck! I know that you are going to build an exciting new magazine. It won’t be the same as the old BusinessWeek, but times have changed, and it’s time for BusinessWeek to change with them.

“As for me? I’ve got definite plans that I’m not ready to post about yet. I will, however, put up a new email address before closing down shop here. I will continue blogging at a new location, with a hiatus of a month or two.”

Read more here.

Mandel, who was named 2006 economic journalist of the year by the World Leadership Forum, was one of the true voices of BusinessWeek who made the magazine. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard and was responsible for formulating the magazine’s coverage of economic policy.

Mandel had been at the magazine since 1989.

]]> http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?feed=rss2&p=11995 http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?p=11991 http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?p=11991#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:26:59 +0000 Chris Roush http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?p=11991 TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

A higher percentage of BusinessWeek’s editorial staff overseas are maintaining their jobs in comparison to the domestic reporters and editors, where the cuts were larger as the magazine prepares to be sold to Bloomberg LP.

An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of the domestic editorial staff have lost their jobs in the past week as a result of the deal.

Thanks partly to stiffer labor protection laws in Europe, most of the European BusinessWeek staff will be staying on after the sale. That incudes Andy Reinhardt, the Europe channel editor on BW.com; Stanley Reed, the London bureau chief; Kerry Capell, senior writer in London; Mark Scott, correspondent in London; and Carol Matlack, Paris bureau chief.

However, Frankfurt bureau chief and European regional manager Jack Ewing is leaving for a job with the New York Times/International Herald Tribune in Frankfurt.

In Asia, Bruce Einhorn, the Asia channel editor and Asian regional manager in Hong Kong, is staying, as is senior writer Frederik Balfour in Hong Kong. So are Dexter “Tiff” Roberts in Beijing, Ian Rowley in Tokyo, and Moon Ilhwan in Seoul.

However, Kenji Hall in Tokyo and two administrative assistants will be leaving.

It’s unclear for many of these editorial staff members as to what they’ll be doing in the future. Some will likely join the Bloomberg News wire, while others will stay with the magazine.

Friedman writes, “The division published a handful of titles a year and had eight staffers. Bloomberg hopes to place the employees elsewhere in its company.

“Bloomberg is going through a transition of sorts. It acquired BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill and expects to spend enough money to make BusinessWeek successful.

“One of Bloomberg’s objectives is to increase its stature and profile on Main Street. It already is a powerhouse in Wall Street trading rooms. Its array of data and news is deemed invaluable by Wall Street professionals and the company wants to broaden its readership beyond securities and money-management professionals.”

Read more here.

Bloomberg Press publishes books for financial professionals as well as books of general interest on investing, economics, current affairs, and policy affecting sophisticated investors. More than 140 titles have been released since 1996. The books are written by leading practitioners and authorities, including Bloomberg News reporters and columnists, and are published in more than 20 languages.

A Market News story states, “Employees of the firms were informed of the transaction in a joint statement by Market News International President Michael Connor and the CEO and founder of NTKN John Harada, who will remain a consultant to the combined company.

“‘We had our first discussion about bringing these two companies together at the very beginning of the year,’ the statement said. ‘While that was a very theoretical and preliminary conversation, we could see then that there were some unique and interesting possibilities that would come out of such a combination within the larger framework of the Deutsche Boerse Group.’

“Deutsche Boerse Group, which completed its purchase of Market News International in January from a Shanghai-based Xinhua Finance, offers trading specialists through its Market Data and Analytics arm a range of price data, trading statistics, analyses and indices of economic activity.

“Market News International, founded in 1983 and headquartered in New York, provides breaking economic and financial news, analysis and data from its bureaus in Washington, New York, Chicago, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai and correspondents in Latin America and Canada. Major components of its menu of news include intensive coverage of central banks, government finance and financial markets delivered to trading professionals and other media, including newspapers, Web sites and news services.”

Read more here.

The previous list had gotten too long, according to some, to track.

1. Cliff Edwards, a correspondent in the Silicon Valley bureau, where he covers Intel, the semiconductor industry, handheld- and consumer-electronics companies, has been offered a job.

2. Reena Jana, the innovation department editor, is leaving the magazine. Prior to this position, she was a staff writer at BusinessWeek.com, covering innovation and design.

3. Tom Giles is going back to Bloomberg, but will continue in his BusinessWeek job. Giles is editor of BusinessWeek.com’s Technology & Science channel, based in Silicon Valley. Before joining BusinessWeek.com in August 2005, he was deputy technology team leader at Bloomberg News, where he spent more than eight years.

4. Roben Farzad is staying with the magazine. He is a senior writer who covers finance and Wall Street who previously worked at Goldman Sachs.

5. Nanette Byrnes is also staying with the new Bloomberg BusinessWeek. She has been a senior writer since March 2003, specializing in corporate finance and management. She was previously associate editor, Corporations department editor, and a finance correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau.

6. Emily Thornton will be joining Daniel Hertzberg’s finance team at Bloomberg News. Thornton has been a senior writer at the magazine. Previously, she was an associate editor, investment banking editor, and Tokyo correspondent

Click here for the earlier list, which had information on those staying and going through noon Friday.

Moses and McMains report, “In a request for information that several big, global ad agencies received, Bloomberg said it was seeking an agency or agencies to help it with ‘corporate identity and design, advertising, media, digital, events and demand generation.’

“Bloomberg said its agency partners would preferably be New York-based and with capabilities in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

“The search comes five months after Bloomberg hired its first chief marketing officer, Maureen McGuire, a marketing vet of Sears Holdings and IBM. She declined to comment for this story.

“Although Bloomberg is a giant in financial and market data through the eponymous terminals that it leases to trading professionals, its terminal revenue has been slowing. While Bloomberg employs more than 1,500 news staffers, it also has lacked a mass outlet for its news content.”

Read more here.

Weiss writes, “It’s not even clear to what extent the new BW will have its own writing staff. Higher-level editors are being retained for the magazine, but so far I haven’t heard of any BW writers being retained to work exclusively for the magazine. This is crucial to the magazine’s identity, if one cares about such things.

“I’ve heard from multiple sources that the new BW will use the Bloomberg wire’s staff to cover Wall Street and finance, and that the people in my old department who have been retained will be going to the wire, not the magazine. Stock market columnist Gene Marcial is being let go, along with the rest of the magazine’s columnists. He had a substantial following, surviving previous layoffs that had already gutted the staff, but he’s history.

“The impression I get is that BW people are a bit in a state of shock over the extent to which the staff is being gutted. Can’t say I blame them. But it was obvious from the moment BW was put up for sale that this outcome was always in the cards. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in their stars, but in Terry McGraw.”

Read more here.

The information services department at BusinessWeek — the library where researchers found information for reporter’s stories — is being closed as part of the magazine’s sale to Bloomberg.

Those losing jobs as of Dec. 1 are director Jamie B. Russell, deputy manager Susann Rutledge, technology manager John Cady and researchers David Polek and Susan Zegel.

In an e-mail to friends that was obtained by Talking Biz News, Russell wrote, “We’ve had a great run, and I think/hope my staff — the best in the business — will land on their feet. But it’s a tough time for all — as if you hadn’t noticed.

“Personally — I’ll be launching my new career as a textile mogul!

“Stay tuned — and thanks for all your support over the years as I’ve whined about this being imminent. If you wait long enough…:-)”

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal also closed its research library.

The call will be held Monday, Nov. 30, at 3 p.m. EST. The moderator will be Floyd Norris, the chief financial correspondent of The New York Times.

The call will discuss the best places to look for executive compensation data and CEO contracts, how and when executive pay rose so high, the role of shareholders in curbing executive compensation, why past government efforts to curb executive pay failed, and how executive compensation negotiations are being changes by the Obama administration clampdown.

Also on the call will be Nell Minow, editor and co-founder of The Corporate Library; Paul Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources; and Michelle Leder, editor and founder of footnoted.org.

To sign up for the call, send an e-mail with “yes” in the subject line to sabew@missouri.edu. You will then receive e-mailed instructions on how to participate and how to ask questions before or during the call.

]]> http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?feed=rss2&p=11949