How bad was coverage of the port strike? - LA Biz Observed

It was pretty bad - frankly, some of the worst local business reporting I've seen in a while. There's a lot to find fault with, but it starts with the one number that has dominated news reports (and was parroted by local officials) for the past week: That the economic impact of the walkout was running $1 billion a day. LAT columnist Mike Hiltzik explains why that number was bogus from the start:

The cargo reaching Los Angeles/Long Beach over the last eight days hasn't been tossed into the sea as a dead loss. Much of it has been diverted to other West Coast ports or to the Panama Canal. The Marine Exchange of Southern California, which tracks vessel traffic, says 20 ships have been rerouted, leaving 13 container vessels at anchor as of Tuesday. The idled vessels contain about $650 million in cargo, a port spokesman told me. Some cargo is still making its way across the Pacific, some at a slower pace ordered by shippers hoping to stall its arrival until the strike is over.

How bad was coverage of the port strike? - LA Biz Observed 
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