How mainstream media approaches real estate reporting
Reporters from The Wall Street Journal and New York Times spoke to an audience of real estate execs about how they cover the industry — and contentious topics.
Key points:
- Real estate reporters Debra Kamin of The New York Times and Nicole Friedman of The Wall Street Journal spoke at the T3 Leadership Summit in May.
- They have written stories that had immediate impacts on the industry — and elicited strong reactions — but both said that they stand fully behind their reporting.
- Kamin and Friedman discussed the challenges of reporting for a large, general audience and explained the fact-checking and editorial processes.
FRISCO, Texas — What goes into covering the residential real estate industry as a journalist at a major national newspaper?
Two real estate reporters — Debra Kamin of The New York Times and Nicole Friedman of The Wall Street Journal — provided some answers during a panel discussion at the T3 Leadership Summit on May 20, offering insights into how journalists from outside the industry approach their work. (Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.)
What matters to the audience?
While a trade publication may do many stories on an issue important to industry insiders, reporters at The New York Times or Wall Street Journal have to be more strategic in their coverage.
"I have colleagues who also cover housing or real estate in different ways, but I'm always trying to prioritize what is the most important story that I can be telling right now and asking myself: Why now? Why does this matter? What are the broader implications of this story?" Friedman explained.
Kamin discussed the importance of reporting in a way that is accessible and informative for a general audience. She not only needs to "avoid jargon," but must also "make sure that we're holding their hand and not getting too in the weeds" with some of the more obtuse aspects of real estate, Kamin said.
Handling controversy — and criticism
When the WSJ reported in March that Compass was in talks to acquire HomeServices of America, the news was quickly met with a denial from top executives at HSoA. But the reporting was above board, said Friedman, explaining that even if a source is not named in the story, the WSJ knows who that person is and has independently verified their merit to speak on the topic.
"We do trust our sources," she said, adding that acquisition talks can "hit snags" and "are always fluid."
Kamin has also reported on a number of controversial topics, particularly sexual harassment and assault in the real estate world. Some of those stories have led to immediate upheaval in the industry — and sparked strong reactions from those within it — but she believes that anger is often misplaced.
"A lot of times when people read things and they don't like what they read — particularly in this climate — there is a knee-jerk reaction to presume that there is an agenda behind that reporting, or to hold the messenger of that recording accountable, rather than actually reading something that might be challenging or difficult," she explained.
"I can tell you that I stand behind the work that we've done, 100%," Kamin said. "It is very deeply sourced and it is done with immense care and a desire to be as fair and honest as possible in every single way."
Friedman added that while the reporter is the "messenger," it's the content that matters. "The reader doesn't care about me," Friedman said. "They just want to know the information and they want to know how what's going on affects them and what it means for them."
A rigorous review process
Both Kamin and Friedman serve as their own fact checkers but noted that everything they file gets thoroughly vetted before and after a piece goes to editors. Friedman discussed the WSJ's policy of "no surprises journalism" where every person who is mentioned or named in a story gets a heads up and a chance to respond. The objective is to be fair, she explained, particularly when reporting on a contentious issue.
In Kamin's case, when writing "a high-stakes story" she will highlight each sentence in green after it has been double checked and verified. And at the NYT, each story is reviewed by at least two editors, Kamin noted, sometimes more. "It takes hours upon hours, but it means that we are able to say this is something we're happy to put on the record," she explained.
"There's this motto in journalism: If your mom tells you she loves you, make sure you fact check it," Kamin said. "One of the things about being a good journalist is you have to always remember that you never know everything. There's always a possibility that there might be information that changes what the story is."