The Fiscal Times
Encyclopedia
The Fiscal Times is an English-language digital news, news analysis and opinion publication based in New York
, NY and Washington, D.C.
, founded and initially funded in 2010 by Peter G. Peterson, founder of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Peterson, a billionaire investment banker, has long advocated for restrictions on entitlement programs and deficit reduction, causing some liberal advocacy groups and analysts to charge that there is an inherent bias in Fiscal Times reporting. The Fiscal Times website launched in February 2010.
The publication -- through core content channels policy and politics, business and economy, and life and money -- focuses on the impact of fiscal policy on business and consumers and on how business and consumer behavior influences government fiscal policy. Its news coverage follows the Presidency, Congress and the Federal Reserve, the euro zone fiscal crisis, and U.S. business as part of a global economic system. The site includes a searchable research center containing white papers, reports, surveys, and interactive media from government agencies, think tanks, pollsters and non-profits.
Celebrating the February 2010 launch of The Fiscal Times website, an article in "The Washington Scene" section of the The Hill
stated that it had received "rave reviews, with guests and journalists commending the site on its non-partisan, clearly numbers-based approach to reporting the news of money." However, an article in the AlterNet
digital news and opinion service in March 2010 characterized the Fiscal Times as "tycoon-funded" propaganda, while in April of the same year economist Dean Baker
of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
said the publication's news articles displayed pro-deficit-reduction bias. In June 2010, the organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting again criticized the Washington Post, for publishing another Fiscal Times authored news article that allegedly promoted deficit reduction.
; Washington editor Eric Pianin, former editor and budget reporter for the Washington Post; Ciro Scotti, former managing editor at Business Week; Merrill Goozner
, former Asia
correspondent and chief financial writer for the Chicago Tribune
; Tom Herman, former tax columnist for The Wall Street Journal
; John Berry, former Federal Reserve reporter for Washington Post; and Eric Schurenberg, Editor in Chief, CBS Money Watch.
, and Bankrate
. In addition, TFT’s stories appear frequently on the Huffington Post and MSN Money.
Another stated goal of the publication is to inspire debate about important fiscal issues that affect the country, while engaging an informed readership. The Fiscal Times blog, The Capital Exchange Blog, features writers of varying political perspectives, including Lawrence J. Haas, Henry J. Aaron, Joseph White, and Michael D. Tanner.
The Fiscal Times publishes opinion columns and blogs in the 500-1000 word range. Long-form articles and multi-part investigative series can run as long as 7,500 words.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, NY and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, founded and initially funded in 2010 by Peter G. Peterson, founder of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Peterson, a billionaire investment banker, has long advocated for restrictions on entitlement programs and deficit reduction, causing some liberal advocacy groups and analysts to charge that there is an inherent bias in Fiscal Times reporting. The Fiscal Times website launched in February 2010.
The publication -- through core content channels policy and politics, business and economy, and life and money -- focuses on the impact of fiscal policy on business and consumers and on how business and consumer behavior influences government fiscal policy. Its news coverage follows the Presidency, Congress and the Federal Reserve, the euro zone fiscal crisis, and U.S. business as part of a global economic system. The site includes a searchable research center containing white papers, reports, surveys, and interactive media from government agencies, think tanks, pollsters and non-profits.
History
Initially funded by Peter G. Peterson, a billionaire who has long advocated for deficit reduction, The Fiscal Times has been accused by some liberal advocacy groups of having a political agenda. The first controversy occurred when the Washington Post published its initial Fiscal Times authored article on December 31, 2009, the Post recognizing the immediate "uproar" from bloggers and progressives over its partnership with the organization. The news story was entitled "Support grows for tackling nation's debt." The advocacy group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting subtitled an 'Action Alert' on the story "Anti-Social Security outfit does propaganda, not journalism." Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander criticized his paper's lack of transparency but defended the partnership with the Fiscal Times, noting that Peter Peterson had informed him that his funding of the Fiscal Times had "no strings attached."Celebrating the February 2010 launch of The Fiscal Times website, an article in "The Washington Scene" section of the The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
stated that it had received "rave reviews, with guests and journalists commending the site on its non-partisan, clearly numbers-based approach to reporting the news of money." However, an article in the AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
digital news and opinion service in March 2010 characterized the Fiscal Times as "tycoon-funded" propaganda, while in April of the same year economist Dean Baker
Dean Baker
Dean Baker is an American macroeconomist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, with Mark Weisbrot. He previously was a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an assistant professor of economics at Bucknell University. He has a Ph.D...
of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Center for Economic and Policy Research is a progressive economic policy think-tank based in Washington, DC, founded in 1999. CEPR works on Social Security, the US housing bubble, developing country economies , and gaps in the social policy fabric of the US economy.According to its own...
said the publication's news articles displayed pro-deficit-reduction bias. In June 2010, the organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting again criticized the Washington Post, for publishing another Fiscal Times authored news article that allegedly promoted deficit reduction.
Staff
The staff for the Fiscal Times consists of several veteran reporters, including Editor-in-Chief Jackie Leo, former Editor-in-Chief for Reader's DigestReader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
; Washington editor Eric Pianin, former editor and budget reporter for the Washington Post; Ciro Scotti, former managing editor at Business Week; Merrill Goozner
Merrill Goozner
Merrill Goozner, an independent author and writer, formerly directed the Integrity in Science project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest . He is a former chief Asia, chief financial, and chief economics correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He was a professor of journalism at New...
, former Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
correspondent and chief financial writer for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
; Tom Herman, former tax columnist for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
; John Berry, former Federal Reserve reporter for Washington Post; and Eric Schurenberg, Editor in Chief, CBS Money Watch.
Partnerships
TFT has partnerships with a number of news organizations, including the Washington Post, which allows both publications to jointly produce as well as share content, Business InsiderBusiness Insider
Business Insider is a U.S. business/entertainment news website launched in February 2009. Founded by DoubleClick Founder and former C.E.O. Kevin P. Ryan it is the overarching brand beneath which fall the Silicon Alley Insider and Clusterstock verticals...
, and Bankrate
Bankrate
Bankrate, Inc. is a consumer financial services company based in North Palm Beach, Florida, in the United States. Bankrate.com, perhaps its best known brand, is a personal finance website.-History:...
. In addition, TFT’s stories appear frequently on the Huffington Post and MSN Money.
Mission
The publication bills itself as "The Source for All Things Fiscal." It adds that it is "part of a new era of independently supported non-partisan journalism" on fiscal policy, which "works to present fair, accurate and balanced reporting and serve as an honest broker in sorting through a broad range of viewpoints, including the federal budget, the growing deficit, entitlements, health care, personal savings, taxation, and the global economy."Another stated goal of the publication is to inspire debate about important fiscal issues that affect the country, while engaging an informed readership. The Fiscal Times blog, The Capital Exchange Blog, features writers of varying political perspectives, including Lawrence J. Haas, Henry J. Aaron, Joseph White, and Michael D. Tanner.
The Fiscal Times publishes opinion columns and blogs in the 500-1000 word range. Long-form articles and multi-part investigative series can run as long as 7,500 words.