With all these voices, it becomes essential for thoughtful ones to rise above the babble, make sense of the news and give it some perspective. Historical context is important in business coverage. When a business fails, shareholders, analysts and various audiences may forgive it, but they will never forget it. It becomes a case study on what not to do. The financial press also needs to take the long view.
Certainly journalism is the first draft of history.
But when the first draft can shape events, the press needs perspective. For example, even the greenest reporters know about Black Friday and Black Monday, the market collapses of 1929 and 1987. They know about the flash points of financial history. With historical perspective, you know that not every market movement is a correction. Not every change is a crash.