Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Mitchell’s most important job at Marketplace is to explain the economy in ways that non-expert, non-business people can understand. Michell thinks of his audience as anyone who works, whether for money or not, and lives in the economy . . . which is most people.

Mitchell wants to understand, and help people understand, how the economy works, who it helps, who it hurts and why. Mitchell gets to cover what he thinks are some of the most interesting aspects of the economy: wages and inflation, consumer psychology, wealth inequality, economic theory and how it measures up to economic reality.

Mitchell was a high school newspaper nerd and a college newspaper editor. He has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN-FM, WBAI-FM, KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio, the CBC, the BBC, Monitor Radio, Cairo Today Magazine, The Jordan Times, The Middletown Press, The New Haven Register, Oregon Business Magazine, the Reed College Alumni Magazine, and Marketplace (twice — 1994-2001 & 2008-present).

Mitchell has gone on strike (Newspaper Guild vs. Knight Ridder, Philadelphia, 1985) and helped organize a union (with SAG-AFTRA at Marketplace, 2021-23). Mitchell once interviewed Marcel Marceau and got him to talk.

Latest Stories (2,023)

Obama delves into spending freeze

Jan 28, 2010
In his first State of the Union address, President Obama supported the trillion-dollar stimulus and announced his proposal to freeze spending next year on Congress-controlled programs. Steve Chiotakis gets more from Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman.

Toyota puts brakes on certain car sales

Jan 27, 2010
Toyota has told its dealers not to sell any more of many of their most popular vehicles, including Camrys and Avalons, until the car maker has figured out an acceleration problem. Steve Chiotakis talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman.

Survey studies global government trust

Jan 26, 2010
Communications firm Edelman presents its annual "trust" survey at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Steve Chiotakis talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about which nations' governments have been gaining more of their citizens' trust.

How a spending freeze will help deficit

Jan 26, 2010
President Obama is readying a plan to freeze spending on some domestic programs -- with a few notable exceptions. Bill Radke talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about how the spending freeze will impact the deficit.

Returning the keys to Stuyvesant Town

Jan 25, 2010
Once highly sought by investors at incredible prices, the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village complex in Manhattan is going back to the bank. Steve Chiotakis talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about what went wrong.

Raising funds, forgiving debts for Haiti

Jan 25, 2010
Major figures from the U.N., IMF and beyond are meeting in Montreal to discuss raising funds for Haiti's infrastructure. Steve Chiotakis talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about building costs and forgiving the country's foreign debt.

The gym industry is still in good shape

Jan 25, 2010
When national gym chain Crunch Fitness filed for bankruptcy, many gym owners feared they would be next. But the rise of smaller niche operators and health club priority spending has helped the gym industry thrive. Jeremy Hobson reports.

Sam's Club severs 10% of workforce

Jan 25, 2010
Wal-Mart announced it will cut 11,200 jobs from its Sam's Club warehouse division, a move coming shortly after the company closed 10 poorly-performing stores. Mitchell Hartman reports who's hurt the most by the move.

Ruling opens up political ad frontier

Jan 22, 2010
In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on campaign financing, the companies who will turn corporate and union money into political ads look to win big. Mitchell Hartman reports.

YouTube previews Sundance for pay

Jan 22, 2010
For $4, Sundance fans can go to YouTube for any of five films available for rent from the festival. The site wants to rope in some indie cred to draw advertisers and eventually wants to charge for Hollywood films as well. Mitchell Hartman reports.