There used to be an attraction at Disneyworld called Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It was a terrifying joy ride in which you lurched from disaster to disaster... crashing through walls and a fireplace, careening into trucks, and my personal favorite, a head-on collision with an oncoming train. You were taken on a jarring, manic, havoc-wreaking trip... which wound up in Hell... and eventually spit you back out into the soothing reality of the Magic Kingdom's beautifully manicured grounds. If you were watching business and finance news events over the last 2 weeks, this type of trip will sound eerily familiar.
The last 2 weeks have been a wild ride for everyone who involved in the banking system and the economy... which is just about all of us. If you're saving for retirement, own a mutual fund or individual stocks, have money in the bank (any bank) or money in your wallet, you were swept along on Mr. Paulson's Wild Ride. We have lurched from crisis to crisis... Fannie/Freddie/Merrill/Lehman/WAMU/MoneyMarkets/Morgan/Wachovia... and the list goes on.
I have spent a lot of time in newsrooms (and if you're going to ask me how MUCH time, forget it...) and I have NEVER seen a time like the past 2 weeks. Stressful doesn't even begin to describe it. All of us were buffetted by the changing news currents... what one of our anchors described on a conference call as an economic game of "Whack-A-Mole."
But through all the re-written stories, the re-made graphics, the re-edited packages, the re-formatted newscasts, the re-directed crews on the streets, I think over the last 2 weeks, Nightly Business Report did exactly what we do best... Our goal was to provide our viewers with a well-thought out, well-reasoned, well-presented look at every day's news developments, with top-quality analysis and perspective at every turn. Our goal was to inform. Our goal was to interpret. And our goal was to interview newsmakers who added depth and breadth to our own reporting. I'm proud of every one of our staff members... all of whom did their absolute best work under this pressure.
No one can predict how all this financial turmoil will turn out... and whether we'll end up at the business equivalent of the perfect place that is Disneyworld. But... I can predict that no matter where this goes, NBR will provide sane, reasoned coverage of it.. just the way we have through the wild ride of the last 2 weeks.
We'd like to hear from you about what you thought of our programs... Do you have suggestions for future stories, or things you'd like to see covered? Let us know.
Comments
I've been a fan of the show since its near inception when my father watched it just before The Muppet Show came on. The show has always provided thoughtful insight and perspective without the hyperbole and hype common to other business news.
Both Paul and now Suzie are superb broadcasters with excellent voices and speaking voices that make it easy to hear very detailed information. Most broadcasters have such poor cadence that I can never recall or understand what they say without watching the TV quite intently. I firmly believe anyone interested in a broadcast career should take delivery lessons from your hosts. They are truly nonpareil.
Love the show, seems to have a great Managing Editor compared to the rest of the mundane and trite Business Shows currently on the air today.
Being a Realtor in South Florida and watching my Business die a slow painful death along with my wallet, it seams every house I try to sell is a Haunted House, so I guess my day starts on Mr. Toads Wild Ride and ends at the Haunted House. I am hoping with the Current Financial Crisis at hand, investors will see Real Estate as a safe haven for liquidity. Real Estate is selling today at a fraction of what is was selling for 2 years ago. Buyers can pick up Income Properties at staggering discounts today and since few can qualify for a Mortgage today, they will have no problems filling them up with Tenants willing to pay high rents due to the scarce pool of rentable homes. Income Property today yields a respectable return and is a tangible asset that an investor can hold now and in the future, you cant say that about your portfolio at Lehman now can you. I'm waiting for the next wild ride, hopefully not Mr. Toads, but maybe Mr. Realtor's Wild Ride as the recent turmoil, investors will see the safe haven in Real Estate that over the long haul it has always provided. Faced with having money in the market thinking one will be on easy street, I would think one would prefer to own property on Main Street. Go buy a house!