Two articles of interest in the Globe, over the past couple of days.

First up, Kimberly Blanton did a question & answer with Boston.com readers. Seems like it was a good exchange of ideas.

Not surprisingly, the questions followed the line of "how low will prices go" and "how can Realtors be so full of shit".

And, this:

osmif: Would you agree that it is extremely difficult to get good, objective data or analysis of the real estate picture, given that everyone who has any interest in the topic, also has a vested interest, newspapers included, due to their increasing reliance on classifieds/real estate listings for revenue?

Kimberly_Blanton: As a reporter, I frankly don't read real estate ads. I've never been pressured to write a positive or negative article. The Boston Globe's biggest asset is its credibility. That's why I welcome debate about my stories and criticism. We have to make tough decisions on deadline, and we're not always right. And again you might as well ignore anyone who tries to forecast any market. An economics professor once said: "If I knew where the market was heading, you think I'd be doing this job?"

I have to agree with that. Although Ms. Blanton often takes a different point of view than I would, when reporting real estate stories, I trust her to write what she feels and / or believes.

She seems more pessimistic (some cynics would classify her as being "more realistic") than I. However, she is consistent in her writing, and, although I disagree with most of what she writes, it appears she does a great amount of research to support her assertions.

I think it's a stretch for anyone to be able to show a correlation between advertisers and stories written in the press.

More: Q&A with Kimberly Blanton - The Boston Globe