Mark Cuban and Sharesleuth controversial news meets short selling business model

[mandy]

...the Cuban journalism adventure that's getting the most attention these days is a Sharesleuth, a new site devoted to investigative reporting about business that's just published its first story. Sharesleuth is run by an experienced and well-regarded financial journalist, and in the wake of Enron and Tyco and everything else, no one could argue that we don't need more in-depth business reporting. Sharesleuth, however, is more than a little controversial, because the business model is based on short selling.

Just about everyone in media agrees these days that new business models are needed if internet journalism is to thrive. But a model in which the owner will make money from the fall of stocks he knows will be the subject of a negative story? Even though Cuban has been clear from the beginning that this was the plan, it still seems odd and vaguely unclean. Can the journalism be trusted if we know that it's intended (or at least expected) to drive the stock down?

This credibility question cuts across many areas of journalism these days, as the traditional branded news providers are joined by all manner of upstarts who may (or may not) have an agenda other than straightforward news reporting...

full article: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/arti...60,00.html