Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 9, 2011

This week, Amercan Idol fans were shocked when one of the shows biggest talents, Pia, was voted off the show…..it was another reminder of the dangers of mass tastes dictating. Without Simon Cowell, the judges superficial, uneducated, Jenny-from-the-block evaluation failed us all. I feel the same way about real estate reporting these days: so much of real estate reporting about New York real estate relies much too heaviuly on celebrity. This week I had a very interesting conversation with a top reporter of a major newspaper on the subject.

It amazed me how restricted this reporter was by how competitive the press has become to get the latest scoop on the latest celebrity spotting/purchase/appearance…..real-estate wise!  This very intelligent reporter agreed that there was a need for an organization or two to stop this insanity and become a bit more educational, and dare I say intellectual/smart, about understanding what does and does not happen in the world of real estate.  Surely, when the quarterly reports are distributed, the consumer deserves some more detailed analysis/reporting on what all those figures mean, rather than just spewing them out verbatum, cicling round eventually to the one huge sale of a billionaire or celebrity?

Certainly the New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Observer, Curbed, The Real Deal, etc have all produced some well written, well researched articles. We hope they focus more on these well researched and analysed pieces. The Paris Hilton-esque stuff is becoming annoying.

Just like American Idol, are we all doomed to be overwhelmed by the masses desire for shallow, superficial ‘news’ without any form of analysis or depth? I think there are enough people out there who want and expect more. Maybe what we are experiencing right now is a fashion for the ultra-superficial: hopefully  the next fashion will be INTELLIGENCE, a well designed Burberry coat, not Jeggings, and hopefully it lasts?