How did a lede like the one in Niall Ferguson’s column today make it past the Financial Times editors? The Financial Times is British paper and so arguably not quite as sensitive to the historical racial nerves Ferguson’s lede touches on. But still! Are we supposed to conclude that Barack Obama is lucky because he is black?

An article in week’s issue of Time titled “Business Journalism: A Vanishing Necessity?” suggests that the recent demise of Portfolio, as well as the current financial struggles of Business Week, are some sort of measure that business journalism itself is under threat. Really? Perhaps the real problem is that Time needs to widen its definition of “business journalism.”