'Distractions' Crushed Sallie? Lord, That's Lame

And that is not enough. It simply means that CEOs can too often get away with any old excuse.

The business media, constricted by tradition, can't use humor or ridicule or anything other than an on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand method of criticism. And when you play a game of on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand with a hustler, you are that much closer toward being hustled. And people lose trust, because you are acting as little more than an extended mouthpiece.

While we are on the subject of hustles, don't get me started on retailers and the weather again. They manage to blame any manner of weather for bad sales, and the business media, with typical lack of fight and perspective, plays dutiful stenographer.

Not that weather never has any impact, but even the few times it does, the subtlety is lost in coverage.

For one of the few times ever, I'll agree that the warm September contributed in a slight and small way to disappointing September sales. Just as customers are girding up to by winter clothes ... it's really hot.

But check out how differently these two articles look at the issue.

Although the headline fell too much for the weather excuse: Warm weather leads retailers to reduce forecasts, The Financial Times did a decent job in its lead setting the warm weather against other contributing factors right from the outset. Reporter Jonathan Birchall wrote, in good service to investors: "A dozen leading US retailers lowered their earnings forecasts on Thursday after unseasonably warm weather combined with the continuing housing market slump to slow September sales." I would have put gas prices in there, too, and mentioned both gas and homes before warmth, but check out this (lack of) effort from Reuters.