Columns and Commentary

Why stock market stories aren’t important to most Americans

Quinnipiac University School of Communications dean Chris Roush writes on MarketWatch.com about the overimportance of stock market stories in business media.

Roush writes, “Stock market coverage is the classic story that shows the current problem with business journalism. It’s content for only those with the financial means to invest and to spend on business news content.

“Slightly more than half of Americans — 55% — own stocks, according to an April 2020 poll by Gallup, down from 67% in 2002. And according to the Federal Reserve, just 14% of American families have a direct investment in individual stocks, meaning most people invested in the market are doing so through a mutual fund or retirement account.

“And stock ownership rises based on how much money someone makes — the top 10% on the income scale own stocks about 90% of the time.

“During the 2020 pandemic, when many households lost income and wealth, it was upper-income consumers — and white households — who benefited the most by the 16.3% rise during the year of the S&P 500 Index, a common barometer of stock market performance. Fifty-seven percent of white households own stocks, compared to 30% for Black households and 14% for Hispanic households.

“Jack Murtha notes in the Columbia Journalism Review: ‘Most Americans don’t deal with stocks intimately enough to warrant a constant eye on financial news, just as most people don’t need to check their 401(k) every day.'”

Read more here. This is an excerpt from “The Future of Business Journalism.”

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

Recent Posts

Pacific Business News hires Meierdiercks as editor in chief

The Pacific Business News, an American City Business Journals publication, has hired Janis Magin Meierdiercks  as…

16 hours ago

Sifted reporter Nowshin departs

Sadia Nowshin, a reporter at European startup news site Sifted, is leaving to join literary…

16 hours ago

Variety promotes Shanfeld to TV reporter

Variety has promoted Ethan Shanfeld to TV reporter. William Earl of Variety writes, "Shanfeld joins the entertainment…

16 hours ago

Klimasinska named Bloomberg’s DC breaking news team leader

Kasia Klimasinska is the new team leader for DC breaking news at Bloomberg News. She…

18 hours ago

NYC event to honor Ledbetter is next week

  Paul Smalera has organized a gathering of James Ledbetter's friends and colleagues—open to all…

20 hours ago

CoStar hires Scheier to cover San Francisco market

Real estate news service CoStar News has hired Rachel Scheier to cover the San Francisco commercial market.…

20 hours ago