Brad DeLong and Susan Rasky have an essential pair of articles on Nieman Watchdog: Twelve Things Journalists Need to Remember to Be Good Economic Reporters and Twelve Things Economists Need to Remember to Be Helpful Journalistic Sources. Any blogger that writes about economic issues from time to time would be well advised to read them.

I’d only add one item to their list for journalists. When I was an editor I always encouraged my journalists to say, “I don’t understand that”, in an interview if they didn’t understand something an expert said (which, if we’re honest, happens a lot). There’s no shame in that. In my experience, telling someone you don’t understand what they are saying has two effects in the vast majority of cases. One, they explain it in more cogent, vivid terms. Two, they open up, because just about everyone loves displaying the depth and breadth of their knowledge.