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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 (1,988)

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.

Military under fire for biblical gunsights

Jan 20, 2010
The military is scrambling to decide what to do about some of the gunsights it's been buying for the Army and Marines. References to biblical passages are inscribed on them. Mitchell Hartman reports.

States owe billions in unemployment

Jan 20, 2010
A ProPublica study shows half of the state unemployment systems in the U.S. are deeply in debt. So far, states have borrowed $25 billion from the Feds in order to keep paying laid-off workers. Mitchell Hartman explores states' repayment options.

J&J in trouble over alleged kickbacks

Jan 15, 2010
The U.S. Justice Department is charging Johnson & Johnson with paying millions to a big pharmacy company in order to increase sales of its prescription drugs. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Figure skating won't slip from ratings

Jan 15, 2010
U.S. figure skating doesn't enjoy the same mega-ratings it did when it boasted names like Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. But as the top sport in the Olympic Winter Games, fans are still expected to tune in. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Foreign companies struggle in China

Jan 14, 2010
Whatever its censorship policies, China's legal protections for foreign companies are better than they used to be. But there are still many other obstacles to overcome, and China risks soiling its business reputation. Mitchell Hartman reports.