When finance gets political

This will be the sixth presidential election being conducted while I’ve led a publication, and I can tell you that based on reader feedback, this one is no different from any that have preceded it. We’ve entered the period where readers of financial publications take one of two stances on any mention of government leaders in the financial media they consume.

The first camp consists of the world-weary consumer, exhausted by the ubiquity of political discussion. They say: “Please don’t let your publication get political. It is important to have resources that are providing industry information, not taking political stances.”

This reader helps us do our jobs better because we are reminded to aspire to neutrality.

[More: Talking politics on Twitter? Proceed with caution]

Then there’s the polarized reader that offers less value, frankly, but can inform our work. They say: “InvestmentNews needs a new subtitle. Please consider ‘The Trusted Resource for (insert party you don’t support) Financial Advisors’ as more appropriate.”

Essentially, they’re both saying: “Stick to finance.”

My guidance to the team when we get these notes? Make sure you’re hearing from both sides.

If you’re being yelled at by acolytes of either extreme, then you’re doing it right. And to those who want us to just stick to finance, we will — but that includes an open discussion of regulations driven by political results.

So, we’ll stick to finance, but that doesn’t mean we’ll ignore politics.