Why local business news will lose to the Web

Former Knight Ridder executive Ken Doctor writes about why daily newspapers seem to be abandoning local business news to the Internet.

Doctor wrote, “It’s not surprising. The Web is so much better suited for business news in so many ways. Business is immediacy, moving faster than government – seconds, minutes, hours, days – as often compared to months and years. Business is about numbers, and instant access to interactive, automatically databases are a wonder. Take Marketwatch’s new Portfolio product, for instance, which combines current stock price, historical pricing and current news into one dynamically updated screen.Â

“Such innovation reminds me of the days of newspaper business innovation. I believe (Knight Ridder alums, please remind me) it was the Miami Herald that innovated the Business Monday section in the early ‘80s. The idea was a simple one: both for the readers and for the newsroom journalists – business literacy.Â

“Where daily newspaper had long concentrated on governmental coverage, it started dawning on people that this little phenomenon called American capitalism might be worth a look. The emergence of local and regional private sector coverage was a good thing, and over time, we even saw some journalists hired for some degree of business acumen. The comfort with numbers has never approached, though, the comfort with words in any daily newsroom I’ve ever seen, save the Wall Street Journal.”Â

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