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Reporting the Collapse | Imposing rules on the big financial firms COMMENTARY There’s wide agreement that the largest institutions need to be regulated but differing views on how to do it. Harvard economist David A. Moss calls for creating a new regulatory agency and having the big firms insure themselves for billions of dollars in coverage to protect themselves from failure. 
Reporting the Collapse | A media failure compounds the financial failure COMMENTARY The press is still missing the story of fraud that has taken place, avoids reporting the ‘hollowing out’ of the middle class, and pretty much has its eyes closed to the economic decline that almost certainly lies ahead, writes Danny Schechter.
Reporting the Collapse | Needed: a new industrial policy that responds to things as they are now, not as they used to be COMMENTARY ‘Efficient Market Theory’ failed; banks and big industry shared directors (and profits) and they failed. Nevertheless, writes Martin Lobel, until now the Obama administration has been more inclined to protect large financial institutions than to prevent a recurrence of failure.
Thinking the unthinkable | The world, through Iran’s telescope COMMENTARY The ugly truths that Iranians see go a long way toward explaining why they are so determined to get the Bomb, writes George C. Wilson.
Reporting the Collapse | How about trying some unconventional wisdom for a change? COMMENTARY Renegade economist Thomas Palley supports long-term deficit spending, warns that the stimulus won't work, says it's time to rethink globalization – and argues that journalists aren't asking the really tough questions.
Reporting the collapse | What the press can learn from its failure to report the housing bubble before it burst COMMENTARY Reporters and editors need to evaluate arguments for themselves and get officials and economists to back up their statements, not just make assertions. That’s advice from someone who suspected early on that there was a bubble about to burst and did research that confirmed his suspicions.
The press as ‘ventriloquists’ dummies | Covering prosecutors calls for tough-minded reporters COMMENTARY Writer Andrew Kreig cites concern over abusive prosecutorial conduct and suggests approaches for reporters to dig a little deeper. A question: Was Ted Stevens targeted to deflect from the overwhelming pursuit of Democrats, not Republicans, under Bush?
Reporting the Collapse | Where’s the reporting on the fraud that led to the crash? COMMENTARY The mortgage-related crash was the product of wide-scale criminal fraud, says economist James Galbraith, and people should be going to prison. Instead, he says, the press has pretty much ignored that aspect of it, treating the issue as boys-will-be boys.
Reporting the Collapse | Story ideas, from an expert COMMENTARY Economist Dean Baker becomes assignment editor for a day, and asks for stories on deficits, on the mathematical basis for figuring the right size of a stimulus program, and the set-up by which banks borrow money from the Federal Reserve at 0 percent and re-lend it to the Treasury at 3-1/2 percent.
Reporting the Collapse | Patent system adds hundreds of billions every year to health care costs COMMENTARY Economist Dean Baker says drug and medical device patents drive up costs enormously but are seldom if ever mentioned in the debate over health care reform. Drugs and equipment that could be sold profitably for a few dollars may instead sell for thousands.
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