It has always been easy to identify the culprits in the painful aftermath of a crash. The recent financial meltdown is no different. The more intriguing question today is why so many market insiders in our modern global economy did not see it coming.

That includes the media. Business journalists have escaped the general opprobrium towards docile regulators and winner-take-all players on Wall Street and in the City. The business press has done an excellent job reporting the fallout. But some people are asking why so many business journalists did not comprehend – and, more importantly, failed to report – the enormity of the problems unfolding before their eyes over the past few years as they covered the markets.