LA Times economics writer Gosselin named to fellowship
The Urban Institute today named Peter G. Gosselin, national economics correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, to a one-year fellowship at the institute. The fellowship will permit Gosselin to expand on research underlying stories he wrote for the Times in 2004 and 2005 about family income instability and economic insecurity in the United States, which […]
Middle East journalists' view of U.S. biz coverage
I just spent the past hour talking about U.S. business coverage with a group of about 16 journalists from Middle Eastern countries ranging from Morocco to Bahrain to Iraq. The general impression that they have about business news coverage in this country is that it is too soft and not critical enough about businesses. I […]
SABEW Best in Business award winners named
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has named the winners in its 11th annual Best in Business contest, which recognizes the best overall publications, as well as best breaking news, enterprise and special projects reporting in business journalism during 2005. The contest received 850 entries from daily newspapers, business weekly newspapers, magazines, wire […]
Comparing apples to oranges
When I’m in my classroom, I emphasize a lot about avoiding comparing apples to oranges. In the “Business Reporting” class, an example would be to compare the actual stock price of two companies when we all should know that’s a comparison that can’t be made because the two companies don’t have the same number of […]
News & Record reporter fired for plagiarizing Triad Biz Journal
John Robinson, the editor of the News & Record newspaper in Greensboro, N.C., is posting details on his blog about how the newspaper fired a reporter for stealing information that was published on the online site of the Triad Business Journal, which is also based in Greensboro. The reporter in question is Carla Bagley, and […]
Carol Loomis to receive SABEW award
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers selected Carol Junge Loomis, a journalistic fixture at Fortune magazine who’s often regarded as the best business writer in the United States, as this year’s recipient of the group’s Distinguished Achievement Award. Loomis, 76, has worked at Fortune for 52 years and has kicked corporate shins for […]
Fortune's John Helyar's rules for biz writing
Someone has posted on a blog Fortune magazine senior writer John Helyar’s six rules for better business writing. Although they aren’t new, I am guessing that some people haven’t seen them. So, here are a couple: 2) Don’t do drive-by shootings. Odds are that the best stories you’ll ever write are based on relationships established […]
IRE winners named
A couple of winners in the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ annual awards contest were business stories. Willamette Week in Portland, Ore., won a certificate for its investigation into Portland General Electric. Reporter Nigel Jaquiss’ investigation into the proposed sale of Portland General Electric, Oregon’s largest utility, revealed information from inside sources that sank the deal. […]
The future of business journalism
A symposium on the state — and future — of business journalism will be held at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill on June 21-22 and include some of the biggest names in the industry talking about what needs to be done to improve the quality of business reporting. Among the speakers are Nightly Business […]
Convincing a student to take Economics Reporting
There is a journalism student at UNC-Chapel Hill who is interning this semester with the AP bureau in Brussels. Of all things, she is being allowed to cover the European Union. Earlier this week, I e-mailed her about taking “Economics Reporting” in the fall, saying that it would be a good class for her given […]
