6 comments

• 

  Martine

  9 months ago

  Thanks for pointing out the errors, Sinistra. We will take the 'buff, regroup and press on.
  You have some interesting comments on the media as well.
  reply
• 

  sinistra

  9 months ago

  Cheers Martine, I appreciate the feedback.
  reply
• 

  Mike

  9 months ago

  Hi,
  
  You say Mr. Rampersad did a decent job of summarizing a complex topic. Really? Much of what he wrote merely paraphrased reports from other sources. I see no real understanding of the complexity of the situation facing financial markets. He mostly quotes local "experts" opining on the implications of the meltdown for local businesses. This isn't journalism; it's stenography.
  
  You yourself have highlighted some of the flaws in this story. And as you've pointed out, this is largely due to the vast majority of 'journalists' being out of their depth when it comes to reporting on the law, politics, business etc. They need to go and train, maybe spend a few months at a real newspaper to see and learn how professional newsmen and women go about the very serious business of journalism.
  
  thanks
  Mike
  reply
• 

  Mike

  9 months ago

  Hi -- Took a read of the rest of your blog. Good job highlighting the
  problems facing T&T media...
  
  I just have one problem with some of your observations on one story in
  particular. In praising Camini Marajh for her RBC/RBTT story you say: "Her
  coverage of the deal should be framed and used as a model by editors and
  reporters in other newsrooms."
  
  Are you serious? Maybe I've been reading too much FT, Wall Street Journal,
  New York Times and such, but what Ms. Marajh did in this story is fairly
  routine for any such story. In fact, if you've ever used a Bloomberg
  terminal you'd know that stories like these cross the 'tape' all the time.
  And many such stories are written on tight dealine, sometimes in a couple
  hours by wire reporters. Trust me, there is nothing particularly great
  about this story.
  
  You also say that Ms Marajh scooped international media. I don't think this
  is accurate. At $2 billion, The RBTT deal is a small acquisition and not
  exactly something reporters at Reuters, the FT, WSJ and other outlets would
  prioritise. My guess is that they only paid it any attention when the RBC
  press release hit the wires.
  
  Moreover, this paragraph that you praise ("wonderful. wonderful.") is
  incomplete:
  
  "Both have financial incentives to see the deal through, according to
  financial sources. RBC, Canada’s largest bank is flush with acquisition
  dollars, assets of Can$563 billion and a market capitalisation of Can$69
  billion."
  
  Missing detail: How much acquisition dollars does RBC have? Also, citing
  the bank's assets is meaningless without reference to the bank's
  liabilities. Also, we're told that RBC is trailing rivals in the Caribbean.
  How much business does RBC have in the Caribbean? Moreover, why is the
  Caribbean important to RBC?
  
  You also praise the following paragraphs as "establish[ing] why the deal
  would be beneficial to both parties, are neatly hedged (”if approved by
  shareholders”) and give relevant financial details."
  
  "RBTT, Trinidad’s largest bank with assets of US$7 billion, has stumbled in
  recent years on issues related to management, flat earnings and growth
  limitation.
  
  The RBC offer, comprising 60 per cent cash and 40 per cent RBC stock, if
  approved by shareholders, would give RBTT stockholders a much-needed boost
  with an option of cash and RBC shares - Can$55.26 at the close of trade on
  the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday."
  
  The first paragraph is vague. What is the growth limitation? And if that
  limitation exists, why is RBC seeking to acquire RBTT? How does RBC plan to
  generate growth? (Every acquisition should generate value for shareholders.
  Growth is fundamental to creating value.) Is RBTT bloated? Will there be
  job cuts to generate cost savings? What's the growth strategy underpinning
  the acquisition?
  
  The second paragraph is also vague and fails to answer a fundamental
  question: Is the RBC offer a fair one? Are RBTT shareholders getting a good
  deal? In fact, I would say that this was the most important aspect of this
  story. Ms Marajh should have gotten an expert opinion about the proposed
  offer. This paragraph reads more like PR than insightful reporting.
  
  Next, Ms Marajh writes:
  
  "Still to be worked out, however, is the price of RBC shares which are to
  be listed on the local Stock Exchange under the depository receipt system
  used on the Nasdaq and other major Exchanges where a specified number of
  shares of foreign companies are issued and traded.
  
  Sources say the listing of a big international bank like RBC on the TT
  Stock Exchange would be a major coup for this country and could well
  catapult Trinidad centre stage and a step closer to the Prime Minister’s
  dream of making this country the financial capital of the Caribbean."
  
  You say in response to these paragraphs: "When I got to this point in the
  story, I was tempted to applaud. Ms Marajh clearly had spectacular sources
  on this one, because details like that are gold dust."
  
  Really? Do you need to have spectacular sources to state the obvious?
  Details like that are gold dust? Wow... (I also notice that Ms Marajh made
  no attempt to contact RBC to verify her story. Not even a sentence saying:
  "RBC officials declined to comment." This would have added balance to the
  reporting.)
  
  I think you're doing a good job with this blog, but we need to be careful
  not to regard routine reporting as excellence. I know that given the sorry
  state of our journalism the temptation exists to do so, but we have to
  resist that temptation if we ever want our journalism to improve.
  
  thanks
  Mike
  reply
• 

  cmogle

  6 months ago

  If you're going to use photographs for your blog posts under Creative Commons, it might be nice to reference who took them (other than you taking them effectively).
  reply
• 

  sinistra

  6 months ago

  Hi - thanks for getting in touch. I use a plugin called Tagaroo to
  automatically insert pictures into posts; it only references
  CC-friendly images, and always links back to the source. Per my
  reading (and re-reading, post your email) of the various CC licenses,
  a link back to the source is the preferred form of attribution.
  
  If you disagree that this is enough (as it seems you do), please let me know what you would prefer and I will amend the post.
  reply