The Enforcers: How Little-Known Trade Reporters Exposed the Keating Five and Advanced Business Journalism

The Enforcers: How Little-Known Trade Reporters Exposed the Keating Five and Advanced Business Journalism
ISBN-10
0252051807
ISBN-13
9780252051807
Category
Business & Economics
Pages
264
Language
English
Published
2019-11-18
Publisher
University of Illinois Press
Author
Rob Wells

Description

In the 1980s, real estate developer and banker Charles H. Keating executed one of the largest savings and loans frauds in United States history. Keating had long used the courts to muzzle critical reporting of his business dealings, but aggressive reporting by a small trade paper called the National Thrift News helped bring down Keating and offered an inspiring example of business journalism that speaks truth to power. Rob Wells tells the story through the work of Stan Strachan, a veteran financial journalist who uncovered Keating's misdeeds and links to a group of US senators—the Keating Five—who bullied regulators on his behalf. Editorial decisions at the National Thrift News angered advertisers and readers, but the newsroom sold ownership on the idea of investigative reporting as a commercial opportunity. Examining the National Thrift News's approach, Wells calls for a new era of business reporting that can—and must—embrace its potential as a watchdog safeguarding the interests of the public.

Other editions

Similar books