When it comes to reaction to breaking news, especially economic statistics for which we are seeking quick and clever commentary, who do we decide who to quote and who to ignore?
A few people – you know who you are – are damned for being too ubiquitous. Folk with Opinions On Everything are helpful when we’re really up against it, but most papers try to keep the use of such folk to a minimum.
Today at 9.30am some pretty awful figures on the state of the UK economy emerged.
On important stuff like this what we really want are proper experts speaking in English. Too much of what we get is professional spokespeople who exist purely to get their firms’ name in lights.
Or actual experts who appear to communicate in fluent Hungarian only.
A decent example of how to do it here from ING’s economist James Knightley (he may have had some help from MHPC). He is quotable and his work landed in reasonably good time after the 9.30am release.
His report begins: “UK: that sinking feeling”, which is beginning to sound about right.
There’s a good chart which a graphics department might decide to make use of too.
Do it like that.
