Emil Sotirov

The wording of three headlines from today clearly illustrates how press and public still cannot resist the “image” machinery and brand (and money) power of big companies… “Enron=Fraud” being the exception that confirms the rule.

Question: How do you feel about the following statement?

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup are “dirty rotten… scoundrels… and fraudsters.”

OK… my guess is – you feel uneasy: this cannot be… these are our most trusted financial institutions… the statement is too extreme.

And that would prove my point. Anyway… here are today’s headlines in question – yes, three (not so) different stories – all from today.

Here is how “objective” is a headline about the little thieves:

Wall Street’s Dirty Rotten Little Scoundrels

Wow… what passion, what righteous indignation.

And here are the very “factual” headlines about the big thieves. I almost can hear the journalist and the chief editor going: “Objective… first rule of journalism… good titles… really expressing how uninteresting and unimportant these stories are… and how we stand behind the behinds of our big advertisers in difficult times.”

JPMorgan Settles WorldCom Suit for $2 Bln
(Citigroup already settled for $2.58 billion – see end of article)

Citigroup, Morgan Stanley Named in Probe

Update (June 10, 2005): Citigroup to pay $2 bln in Enron lawsuit

Update (June 14, 2005): JPMorgan to pay $2.2 bln settlement

Update (August 3, 2005): Time Warner settles suit, posts loss
Notice, the title doesn’t even mention the number. It must be of no interest. Still, let me tell you – it’s $2.4 bln. If only there was a Pulitzer Prize for least noticeable title…

Update (August 16, 2005): J.P. Morgan settles Enron case for about $1 bln