FT reporter: Biz reporting is “people making mistakes and errors and strokes of genius”
Tyler Rothmar of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan profiles Leo Lewis, a Financial Times correspondent in Tokyo. Rothmar writes, “Although he writes on a variety of topics, financial journalism is closest to his heart. ‘When it’s done well,’ he says, ‘you overlay a narrative and treat it as any other kind of journalism, in that you’re […]
Dear beat reporters: You better know other sectors as well
There are lots of business sectors. And they are fun to cover. And not just as individual beats, but as a group. “Sectors? Careful, you’re dating yourself,” said an editor acquaintance during a recent meeting. She gestured out at the vast newsroom beyond her office. “Most of the kids out there wouldn’t know what you’re […]
How Ed Silverman’s Pharmalot blog has built reader loyalty
Justin Ellis of the Nieman Journalism Lab interviewed Pharmalot blogger Ed Silverman, whose blog covering the pharmaceutical industry now resides at the Boston Globe’s State. Here is an excerpt: Ellis: How has your reporting changed as a result of writing Pharmalot for so long? Silverman: When I first started it in early 2007, the pieces were […]
Morningstar drops service used by business journalists
Talking Biz News received the following email earlier this week from a business reporter: We have an $800/year subscription to a Morningstar product that allows us to set an alert for all SEC filings made by Oregon companies. Morningstar is eliminating the product and steering folks to Intelligize, which costs $3,500/year. That’s out of our […]
Farzad’s unorthodox approach to business journalism
Style Weekly in Richmond, Va., profiles Roben Farzad, the former Businessweek writer and now host of public radio’s “Full Disclosure.” Farzad writes, “The show airs thought-provoking interviews from an economic perspective with local guests you might recognize, plus big-name journalists, high-powered business executives and pundits. “One example of Farzad’s unorthodox approach to business coverage: He […]
Should reporters know the business model of their outlet?
Is it important that reporters understand the business model of their publisher/broadcaster? The question came up last week at the McGraw Symposium, one of the sessions at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ Fall Conference. Rebecca Blumenstein of the Wall Street Journal suggested that it didn’t hurt as long as the divide between […]
When CEOs complain about negative business coverage
Olivia Barrow, a reporter for the Milwaukee Business Journal, writes about how chief executive officers and other business executives complain that they only receive negative coverage from the financial media. Barrow writes, “In my case, writing for a local business publication, I write stories that aim to help businesses grow by giving them leads they […]
How Barry Newman became the WSJ front-page king
Barry Newman spent 43 years at The Wall Street Journal with one goal in mind: Getting a broader readership for his front-page stories than just business executives and economists. “The real challenge was not whether to write business news or not,” said Newman on Monday. “The leap was to write for a general news audience […]
A monkey or a business reporter?
Olivia Barrow, a reporter for the Milwaukee Business Journal, writes on LinkedIn about how she tries to go beyond reporting stories that a monkey could do, such as rewriting news releases and earnings. Here are two of her suggestions: Know your value, and don’t get bogged down in anything that doesn’t provide value. I can write […]
A good business journalist needs a calendar
If you are a business reporter covering a particular sector or group of companies there is one item you definitely need in your toolbox: A calendar. And it should look a lot like the calendars of the CEOs on your beat. This is a big difference between business journalism and general news. Police busts and […]
