Real Talk with Downtown Josh Brown

Welcome to the Cutting Room Floor, a newsletter where I round up all my personal finance articles, put out exclusive content and interviews, and flag my favorite job listings from around LinkedIn.

No offense to everyone out there, but the percentage of people who can really write is very small.

As well, the percentage of people who understand the financial industry is small.

Combine those two things, and the number of people who can write about money in a compelling fashion is extremely tiny.

Joshua Brown is one of those folks.

That accounts for the fact that his financial blog was one of the best-read in the world. (These days you can find him here .)

To put a capper on 15 years of 'Reformed Broker,' Josh just put out a new book, the appropriately titled 'You Weren't Supposed To See That' .

Part greatest hits, part fresh commentary on his most enduring insights, it's a fun romp through the way things really work on Wall Street.

For Reuters I sat down with Josh to talk about what investors need to know. Check out our convo:

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What Journos & PR Reps Should Know About Each Other ....

The communications game is a funny business.

On the one hand you have journalists, and on the other you have public relations folks. We're all trying to put out compelling stories and getting them seen and read and heard ... but we're obviously coming at it from different angles, with different agendas.

A lot of the skills are the same, though -- and a lot of the people involved are the same too, with a fair amount of jumping back and forth over the course of our careers.

But what do we really need to know about each other? What needs to be said?

I posed this question on my feed the other day, and got some thoughtful answers -- so many, in fact, that I think I'm going to have to have a Part One and Part Two.

So, Part One:

"I’m probably an outlier among comms people in that I want to interact and engage with journalists who consistently produce coverage that’s critical of those with power. I don’t like softball, corporate-friendly interviews and I never really have. Give me and my clients the hardest questions you have, the questions layered with the most conflict and tension. Don’t let us off the hook.

"That’s the kind of journalism that makes an impact — and the core reason for a company to do media is usually to gain trust and respect among those who impact an industry. People don’t trust low-conflict 'reporting,' and I find that being in those articles doesn’t really do much for me or my clients."

-Andrew Graham

?"I’ve been on both sides, so I know exactly how rewarding and fun and how frustrating and utterly exhausting being a journalist can be. It’s what makes me good at PR -- complete understanding of what being in the trenches looks and feels like.

"When I pitch a story, of course I have my product/person in mind. But if it doesn’t benefit the audience of the person I’m pitching, I don’t make the pitch."

-Curt Harding

"PR people often do not understand journalists -- and vice versa. They succumb to the pressures of their clients or internal customers. But when we look at the media as a valuable relationship worth having for the long-haul, we no longer are interested in short-term transactions. Those of us who get to understand our media contacts and their needs will gain credibility and trust. Those who don't will get the cold shoulder."

-Monique Kelley

"The Good:

1. Highly trusted and valuable voices that are necessary in today's world. We deeply believe in what you all do and many of us studied or were journalists ourselves. Good journalists challenge narratives, ask the questions others may not want to, and seek to understand and tell the stories that matter. We genuinely love working with journalists who are curious, seek to understand, and know their stuff.

2. You want to get to the point. We don't want to have to write long pitches and you don't want to receive them. We love this and wish you'd share that feedback once in a while in email so our clients who may assume otherwise will hear it from someone other than us.

The Bad:

1. On Twitter (and some LinkedIn) there are a lot of journalists who will complain about PRs publicly in regards to a bad pitch written, hitting you with the wrong topic, etc. I get this (it's annoying) but it's very one-sided. Most PRs cannot (or likely will not) bash journalists on a public forum online for a story written, something they've asked for in an email, etc., because their job is at stake. We all know there's bad PRs out there, nor are we excusing them, but the online talk of how bad PRs are is what I would assume many journalists may feel when people say media/journalists are fake/corrupt/one-sided. Point being ... it's easy to throw rocks when someone can't throw them back at you.

2. I have seen more journalists recently not show up to interviews that have been set up with chief executives, VCs, spokespeople, or partners, with no email notification as to why, no heads up, nothing. It puts a really sour taste in their mouths, which then makes it really hard for us to make a case for them to work with you down the line when we know you'd be a perfect person to work with on a story.

-Erin Grant

Thanks to everyone who replied ... stay tuned for more responses next week ... and if you have thoughts of your own to add, email me at [email protected] !

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"Changing Jobs Can Put a $300,000 Dent in Retirement Savings ," Anne Tergesen , The Wall Street Journal

"Can You Ignore a Medical Bill? " Annie Lowrey , The Atlantic

"The Best Places to Retire Abroad in 2024 ," Forbes

"Should You Just Give Up, " Joshua Rothman , The New Yorker

"Bay Street Has a Secret Addiction - To LinkedIn, " Tim Kiladze , The Globe and Mail

"Millennials are Worried About Getting Old. Gen X Can Relate, " Boris Kachka , The Atlantic

"The True Cost of Losing Your Home in a Hurricane ," Veronica Dagher & Katherine Hamilton , The Wall Street Journal

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Senior Staff Writer, Culture , Salon.com

Retirement & Financial Planning Reporter , The Globe and Mail

Senior Comms Manager , 微软

Newsletter Deputy Editor , SoFi

Executive Producer, Morning Edition & Up First , NPR

Senior Comms Director , Travelers

Associate Comms Director , 美国麻省理工学院 - 斯隆管理学院

Brand Comms Manager, CENTURY 21?

Global Head of Media Relations , Chubb

Learning Officer, Malala Fund

Reporter, Wall Street Culture , Dow Jones

Director of Executive Platforms & Narratives , 微软

Staff Writer / Historian , The Atlantic

Director, Media & Public Relations , 强生公司

Director of USA Communications , The Economist

Newsletter Writer, Boston Globe Media

Senior Supervising Editor, Planet Money , NPR

Senior Manager, Policy Comms , 亚马逊

Deputy Editor, Editorial Commerce , Good Housekeeping

Head of Corporate Comms , The Pokémon Company International

Multimedia Journalist, Postmedia Network Inc.

Editorial Internship , POLITICO

Senior Program Officer, Infectious Diseases Communications , Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Summer Internship , The Wall Street Journal

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As always, feel free to get in touch via Twitter (here ), or email ([email protected] ), or by DM on LinkedIn -- to suggest story ideas, or ask money questions, or hire me as a freelancer, or sponsor this newsletter, or broadcast your job opening.

Until next time!

-CT