We've got the brains, we've got the brawn

"Good reporters," once said Lord Beaverbrook, "can make the announcement 'Lord Jones is dead' and make it interesting to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive."

The same it seems, is true of private equity funds, which have sprung into the public imagination as the very model of all that is wrong with the money-grabbing, credit-toting, bonus-bagging financial world. We're living in unusual times, and there's indeed a whiff of that heady recklessness that characterised the loadsa dosh generation of the 80s. With brains, brawn and money, private equity pulls no punches.

You might guess that politicians --tout le monde -- are edging closer to heavier regulation. Heiligendamm has private equiteers and hedge funds on the agenda, Merkel and Sarkozy have both called for regulation through the EU, and even Ben Bernanke is "concerned". But actually, I think most of the fears over private equity - and most of the hype - is not being driven by uneducated and inexperienced politicians.

Most candidates for the Labour party's deputy leadership had pretty nuanced views on the subject in yesterday's Evening Standard. All made it plain the industry was a leading light in the UK financial community, and was an invaluable part of the economy. Jon Cruddas - vilified by some as a radical left winger - made his support for the industry known. None of the politicians wanted to scare Privateers away. What they wanted was a more equitable tax system that reflected economic reality. Most of the City is with them on this. Even private equiteers themselves know it. The Wall Street Journal too.

In fact, it was only professional patsy and ueber Blairite Hazel Blears, who thought the current tax regime was fair for Private Equity firms.

If politicians arent guilty of imbalance, the media almost certainly has been. Alluding to the dotcom bubble and the 1980's makes good copy. It plays on a whole host of perceptions about billionaire bankers with ridiculous bonuses. The predatory private equity firm -- secretive, mysterious, capable of taking over anyone it sets its sights upon -- is a pacy hook not lost on editors.

The debate needs to be more balanced. Private equity firms do need to be looked at again by lawmakers. Tax loopholes should be closed. And it is indeed obscene that the doyens of private equity pay less tax than their cleaning ladys. However, private equity firms also do a lot of good for the economy. They are a sign of an efficient and mature market. They are not merely the 'predators' the press paints them out to be.

It's poor journalism for the media to jump on the bandwagon and beat their drum as loud as they can.