A decline in coverage is hurting the North Carolina economy

Chris Roush, a business journalism professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, writes about how a decline in business news coverage in North Carolina is hurting the economy.

Roush writes, “I’d argue that the decline of business news coverage in the main media outlets in the state is harming the economy. A lack of objective news and information about what’s going on at businesses, particularly small, entrepreneurial companies that dominate the state, means that investors, consumers and executives often don’t know what’s going on.

“Lack of such coverage, I believe, has made it harder for some companies to find new investors and recruit employees and executives.

“The Research Triangle Park area is not alone in the decline of business news coverage. The situation at the N&O exists at The Charlotte Observer, The Greensboro News & Record and other papers. Daily newspapers are now focusing more on the business news that average readers want, not the business news that business people want.

“Yes, times have changed for the newspaper industry, and they’re having to change their business model to survive. But business and the economy has been THE story of the past decade, and it’s something that readers care about. They want to know what companies are growing and what regions are adding jobs, or which ones are struggling.

Read more here.