WSJ secretly quotes editor's own employee in yoga story
According to Gawker.com, an editor at the the Wall Street Journal owns a yoga studio, and in a piece on the business of yoga, one of her employees was quoted. "Tina Gaudoin was brought over to the WSJ from the UK early this year to edit the paper's upcoming 'lifestyle magazine.' She's also the owner of Triyoga, a chain of yoga studios in the UK . . . it was so hard for the WSJ to find a good yoga-as-business quote that they ended up using this one, from Claire Missingham: Finance 'is the antithesis of what yoga is about in terms of inner peace,' says Claire Missingham, a yoga teacher in London. But Ms. Missingham, whose pupils have included bankers and hedge-fund managers, says it can be highly beneficial for them. Yoga traditionalists say practicing yoga should be about more than just gaining physical benefits: It's a way of approaching life, including work. 'Yoga teaches you to embrace fear and cultivate patience,' says Ms. Missingham. That's the Claire Missingham who happens to work at Gaudoin's Triyoga Soho!" What do you think of the quote itself and using Missingham as a source?




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Comments
The full WSJ article is here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121684836042178485.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
I think it's a true quote - the benefits of yoga absolutely transcend the physical and extend onto your personal, social and work life. I do, however, think the WSJ shouldn't have used her as a source. That's something you learn in Journalism 101. Aside from the ethical misstep, the rest of the article is a good read!
Posted by: Anna | July 29, 2008 12:41 AM
RESPONSIBLE finance is not the antithesis of yoga. Think about microloans to women starting new businesses in developing countries. Think of all the single moms who could benefit from a better understanding of their own finances. I think the quote was more of a sound byte than a thoughtful response.
Posted by: Diana | July 29, 2008 06:13 PM
The issue is not the truth or falsity of the statement, but the unethical behavior of the WSJ, quoting the person with connections to the paper as they did.
You can expect to see a lot more of this kind of behavior from the WSJ under it's new owner.
Posted by: John | August 8, 2008 01:03 PM