["The report was published by and is the view of Moody’s Analytics as part of its economic outlook series. The report included a section observing political developments in the context of their potential economic impact, and did not advocate any political agenda or perspective,” a spokesperson from Moody’s Analytics said in an email response to The Hindu. (Excerpted from, and highlighted in, the report at sl. no. II below.)]
I/II. http://scroll.in/article/766981/why-the-bjp-government-is-annoyed-by-the-somewhat-incompetent-coverage-of-moodys-report MEDIA MATTERS Moody's backs report criticising Modi after government calls it a junior analyst's personal opinion Print mostly got the distinction between Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investor Services right. TV did not. Rohan Venkataramakrishnan · Yesterday · 09:13 pm The Narendra Modi government is very good at separating the individual from the institution. It finds it easy to insist that any intolerant remarks are coming not from the Bharatiya Janata Party or the government but from fringe, individual elements. In the same vein, on Wednesday, the government sought to insist that a critical report from Moody's Analytics – an economic research and analysis firm – was not an institutional report, but simply the "personal opinion" of a Junior Associate Economist. Five days after the report was issued, Arun Jaitley's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, not an organisation given to subtlety, put out a press release featuring everything from regret to surprise to distress. Its problem? News reports suggesting that Moody's, a term that generally refers to the international credit ratings firm, was telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in members of his party or risk losing credibility. The articles all covered a forecast report from Moody's Analytics which acknowledged that Modi had distanced himself from nationalist gibes but still needed to keep his party's members in check to maintain credibility. "It is with regret the Government of India notes the irresponsible and distorted reporting by certain sections of the Indian media on what was the personal opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics," the government's press release said. In statements to the press, Moody's Analytics has responded making it clear that the note was not a personal opinion. "The report was published by and is the view of Moody’s Analytics as part of its economic outlook series," a spokesperson told the Indian Express. "The report included a section observing political developments in the context of their potential economic impact, and did not advocate any political agenda or perspective. Moody’s Analytics provides economic research and analysis and is a separate company from Moody’s Investors Service, the ratings agency." Puja Mehra @pujamehra Moody's Analytics spokesman further clarifies that PM Modi's Office omitted to consult it ahead of issuing the statement on its report y'day 9:10 AM - 5 Nov 2015 115 115 Retweets 43 43 likes The government's release from earlier had laid out three problems with the coverage: *That the media failed to make a distinction between Moody's Investor Services, the ratings agency, and Moody's Analytics, a separate research firm from the same corporation. *That the "personal opinion" of a junior analyst was reported as being the opinion of Moody's Analytics, and *That this personal opinion was then "passed off as a commentary by a Rating Agency to buttress the narrative it wants to portray". Tushar Arun Gandhi @TusharG When Moodys give a positive report it is drafted by its MD, when they wave a red flag it's a junior apprentice crying wolf. 8:04 PM - 4 Nov 2015 102 102 Retweets 48 48 likes Unfortunately (and surprisingly) the Indian print media – not always the most diligent group of institutions – isn't guilty of all of these claims. Take the first, that the media didn't point out that the report had come from Moody's Analytics. Four of the country's biggest newspapers covered the story: The Times of India, the Indian Express, the Hindu and the Hindustan Times. All four mentioned, within the first few paragraphs, that the report had come from Moody's Analytics. Their headlines, for brevity (or nefariously) might have only said Moody's, but the stories themselves did not further any suggestion that the report had come from Moody's Investor Services, which is the credit ratings arm. Next, there's the question of the report being the "personal opinion" and not that of Moody's Analytics. Here's how the firm's website describes the commentary that shows up in its commentary section: "Dismal Scientist® provides real-time coverage of the global economy, including in-depth analysis of more than 300 economic indicators events, topics and long term trends, plus forecasts by Mark Zandi and the Moody's Analytics team... Our economists provide objective, stimulating, jargon-free analysis of current economic and financial events worldwide. They are especially adept at explaining economic concepts to nontraditional or occasional users of economic information." This makes it clear that the reports are coming from individual economists, but it also asserts that what's provided is objective, jargon-free analysis for all of Moody's Analytics customers. Naturally objectivity only goes so far – economics involves opinionating – but the work of Faraz Syed, the economist who wrote the report about India, was not on his personal blog or Facebook page. It was a forecast from Moody's Analytics team, the same as any other of scores of forecasts the firm churns out on a daily basis, each one of which could be characterised both as "personal opinions" and also being from Moody's Analytics. The ministry's third grouse, which combines the previous two, probably has more to do with television reporting than anything in print. Most TV channels said that the credit ratings agency had cautioned Modi, with India Today TV here, for example, even using a picture of Moody's Investor Services, to cover the story and went so far as to quote the report and credit it to Moody's Ratings Agency. (TimesNow's Arnab Goswami, meanwhile, took this as an opportunity to lecture Moody on its inability cover the troubles faced by Black people in the United States). [Video: Global Ratings Giant Moody's Cautions Modi Govt] Here the government has a credible reason to be "distressed" as it says – although it may also want to disavow spurious online discussions about Syed being related to an Indian historian who has raised his voice about the climate of intolerance. While not all channels were equally complicit, CNBC-TV18 for example clearly said that the report had come from Moody's Analytics, across TV debates the discussion used "Moody's" as a short hand for the report's authors. Moreover some directly said it had come from the credit ratings agency, giving the government a genuine reason to be annoyed, though more likely because of incompetence rather than any nefarious plot to bring down the government. II. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/moodys-analytics-stands-by-its-report-denies-it-is-the-personal-opinion-of-an-employee/article7844910.ece?utm_source=Vuuklemail&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Newsletter Updated: November 5, 2015 10:37 IST WEB EXCLUSIVE Moody’s Analytics stands by its report PUJA MEHRA Moody’s Analytics said in a report that the Narendra Modi government has not helped itself in recent times with controversial comments from various BJP members. File photo Denies PMO's comments saying the report was the personal opinion of an employee Moody’s Analytics has denied that its report expressing concern over what it called the belligerent provocation of various Indian minorities, was the personal opinion of an analyst employed with it. The report warning Prime Minister Narendra Modi that unless he steps in to rein in the members of the BJP, India runs the risk of losing domestic and global credibility, was dismissed by the PMO as opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics. ***"The report was published by and is the view of Moody’s Analytics as part of its economic outlook series. The report included a section observing political developments in the context of their potential economic impact, and did not advocate any political agenda or perspective,” a spokesperson from Moody’s Analytics said in an email response to The Hindu.*** [Emphasis added.] The clarification from Moody’s Analytics, which provides economic research and analysis and is a separate company from Moody’s Investors Service, the ratings agency, is in response to the Wednesday’s statement from Prime Minister Modi’s Office on Wednesday that called the Moody’s Analytics report the “personal opinion of a Junior Associate Economist” employed with it. “Opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics has been splashed all across implying it as the opinion of Moody’s Analytics,” the PMO said. The PMO’s statement also sought to blame the media for passing off as commentary on India the personal opinion of a junior analyst “to buttress the narrative it wants to portray”. Sources confirmed that the PMO issued the statement without consulting Moody’s Analytics. Moody’s Shared Services India had shared the report titled, India Outlook: Searching for Potential, with reporters on Friday through email as it does all notes from Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Service Inc. The email stated that the publication was produced by Moody’s Analytics and “if sourcing or referencing any contents from this publication please quote Moody's Analytics.” -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
