I couldn't agree more with this blogger's statement

Soo Doh Nim writes for an international news service and is based in New Jersey. He also writes a blog called “The Hack Squad: Journalism, deadlines and writer’s block.” This is a snippet of a posting from Monday, with bolded emphasis added by me: “Good local, national and international news reporting should be about the […]

CNBC's global show

The Independent, the British newspaper, has a nice analysis piece in this morning’s paper about how business news cable channel CNBC is now running a simultaneous broadcast on three different continents, with the idea being that people outside of North America will want the same business news as those inside of North America. It’s kind […]

Reaching business readers

In last Monday’s edition of the Columbis Ledger-Enquirer, a Knight-Ridder paper, the reporters on the features and business desks were given an opportunity to let the readers know more about themselves. Here is an example: “I’m Christopher Boyce, a Chicago transplant working on the Ledger-Enquirer business desk. “One of my grandfather’s favorite sayings goes, ‘Money […]

How will WSJ cover this executive compensation story?

I’m big on reading SEC filings, and the 8-K filed by Dow Jones disclosing the compensation of departing Wall Street Journal publisher Karen Elliott House is sure to draw a lot of attention as a follow-up to Tuesday’s major news of the management shakeup at the company. House, according to the filing, which was first […]

Coal mine disaster from a business news perspective

Here are some tips on covering the coal mine disaster in West Virginia that occurred in the last couple of days from a business perspective: 1. The parent company of the mine is International Coal Group, which just went public in November and is an amalgamation of bankrupt and other coal mine operations into one […]

End of the year stock stories

Yes, it is that time of the year again. The end of the year stock story. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2005 down slightly, while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ were both up slightly. Virtually every business section I’ve looked at online this morning led with this story, and most of the business […]

Why are there no New Year's Eve/Day business stories?

The New Year’s Eve/Day celebration is big business, but rarely do I see business sections writing about it. Now would be the time to write and publish some of these stories. For example, here are New Year’s Eve/Day business stories that can be written, but rarely are: 1. The increase in champagne sales that state-run […]

A great post-Christmas story

Yes, I am about to gag on all of the post-Christmas shopping stories that talk about the crowds on Dec. 26 and how retailers are trying to cut prices to entice customers. I think I have read the exact same story 100 times in the past 10 years. Looking for a different way to write […]

Are Big Box retailers fudging some numbers?

If you cover big box retailers — Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Costco, etc. — then here is something to think about: These retailers like to report certain numbers to show the strength of their business. And business reporters often use these numbers in stories about these companies. I’m specifically talking about sales per square […]

Watch who you quote

Do you regularly quote people in your business stories that you think are independent consultants or experts in the field and have unbaised opinions? Think again. The New York Times, on Dec. 23, exposed a person quoted often in drug stories. The story can be read here. “Susan Finston of the Institute for Policy Innovation, […]