NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal Digital Network debuted today 'The End of Wall Street: An Oral History,' a three-part documentary-style series created in partnership with Wall Street Journal Books that presents an in-depth look at the 2008 financial crisis as told by the reporters and editors who witnessed history and defined the coverage. 'The End of Wall Street' -- http://wsj.com/EndofWallStreet -- is available for free on WSJ.com, MarketWatch.com and Barrons.com, beginning today and is narrated by Dave Kansas, former Journal editor and author of the forthcoming "The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street As We Know It" from HarperCollins Publishers, available on Jan. 27.
"The events of the past three months have torn apart the world financial system, shaken the very pillars of global capitalism, and are likely to result in the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression," said Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online, of The Wall Street Journal, who also contributes to the series. "This video is our attempt to explain how it happened."
'The End of Wall Street' features 11 Journal reporters and editors, including Mr. Kansas and Mr. Murray, as well as Evan Newmark, Ken Brown, Heidi N. Moore, Jon Hilsenrath, Kate Kelly, David Wessel, Deborah Solomon, Dennis Berman and Daniel Hertzberg. The breakdown of the three chapters includes:
-- Chapter One: What Happened - Explains the run-up to the housing
bubble and the expansion in consumer credit. Journal reporters
explain how the housing bubble inflated and burst, and how the
housing market ultimately took down Wall Street's biggest
financial institutions.
-- Chapter Two: Why it Happened - What was going through the minds
of CEOs, corporate boards, fund managers and mortgage lenders?
Journal reporters and editors explain how investment banks came
to sell products even their executives didn't understand, and why
companies created what Warren Buffett called "weapons of
financial mass destruction."
-- Chapter Three: What Happens Next - The final chapter tells the
story of the bailout, as seen through a reporter's eyes, and
considers what's ahead for the world economy. Mr. Hertzberg, who
won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the 1987 stock market
crash, explains why the events of 2008 are so different from past
economic downturns, and what it could take to stage a meaningful
recovery.
"The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street As We Know It: What You Need to Know About the Greatest Financial Crisis of Our Time - And How to Survive It," by Mr. Kansas is the first book to be published under an agreement between the Journal and HarperCollins Publishers. The book, to be published by Collins Business, is a definitive guide for Main Street readers who want to make sense of what's happening on Wall Street. Mr. Kansas is currently the editor-at-large of FiLife.com, a joint venture between Dow Jones and InterActive Corp (IAC).
About The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
Marketers seeking business decision-makers and affluent and influential individuals can reach more than 30 million visitors each month across The Wall Street Journal Digital Network. All the sites in the network are owned by Dow Jones & Company and include The Wall Street Journal Online (www.wsj.com), the leading provider of business and financial news and analysis on the web; Barron's Online (www.barrons.com), the site of America's premier financial magazine; MarketWatch.com, a leading investing and financial news site with 100 journalists in 10 bureaus around the world; and AllThingsD.com, a site devoted to news, analysis and opinion on technology, the Internet and media.
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4681