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)

A glimmer of hope for job growth?

Apr 2, 2010
Following a small loss of jobs in February, as many as 200,000 jobs may have been added in March. But temporary relief from part-time Census jobs and bad weather bounce-back may be the real reasons behind promising numbers. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Why top executive pay continues to fall

Apr 1, 2010
Top executive pay is down at the 200 largest U.S. companies for the second year in a row. Bill Radke talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman, who reveals which CEOs are making a few less million this year.

Data clouds called out for dirty energy

Mar 30, 2010
Environmental activities are concerned about server farms' use of dirty energy to keep sites like Google and Facebook running. Bob Moon talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about the environmental impact of the data cloud.

Apple eyes Verizon to carry iPhone

Mar 30, 2010
Apple is working on a new iPhone for the Verizon network, which means heady competition for AT&T, the iPhone's only carrier at the moment. Bill Radke talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about new opportunities this could provide for iPhone users.

Dreamliner closer to commercial release

Mar 29, 2010
The success of a key engineering test over the weekend puts Boeing's 787 Dreamliner one step closer to entering commercial service. Which is promising, considering the carrier is three years behind schedule. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Adjustable mortgages aren't exploding

Mar 29, 2010
Adjustable mortgages threatened to be a big problem this year, coinciding with the peak of the housing market in 2005 and homeowners not owing principal for five years. But the situation isn't as bleak as once feared. Mitchell Hartman explains why.

A plan to help troubled homeowners

Mar 26, 2010
New initiatives are being rolled out to help struggling homeowners. Lenders will be required to temporarily lower or eliminate monthly payments for people who've lost jobs, and they'll get incentives to reduce the principal on underwater homes. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Verizon + Skype: Sea change for mobile

Mar 25, 2010
Verizon is allowing subscribers to make calls using voice-over Internet service Skype. The company's embrace of this method, which it was dead set against before, shows a new trend in the way mobile carries are thinking. Mitchell Hartman reports.

How freelancers afford to stay healthy

Mar 23, 2010
One of the big issues entrepreneurs struggle with is finding affordable health care while not attached to a big company. Mitchell Hartman explores one way these and other freelance types are getting ahead.

Necessity can make a new career

Mar 22, 2010
With unemployment near 10 percent, a lot of people are going out on their own to make ends meet. And sometimes they come out with something better than they had before. Mitchell Hartman explores the potential in necessity entrepreneurship.