Reporters love Yahoo. Love, love, love it. Who could resist a big tech startup with a goofy name, a lovably inept founder, a scheming No. 2, a heartless CFO, and more turnover than a New York donut shop? But alas, everything about Yahoo that gets journalists excited just turns investors off. Chris Boova, an investment officer at J. & W. Seligman, explained it to Fortune:

I'm a tech generalist. I have a lot of opportunities to invest in other stocks with less drama and easily understandable stories.

Got that? There's Yahoo's problem in a nutshell. Jerry Yang thinks he's got a one-of-a-kind global Internet franchise. But to Wall Street, Yahoo's just another set of numbers. Want exposure to the online-advertising market? Just buy Google. That seems easier. (Photoillustration by Fortune)

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