Business journalism and corporate fraud
By Claire Williams For business journalists, catching crooked companies requires skepticism and close attention to the details that should cause hesitation, said journalists in a workshop Saturday. Roddy Boyd, founder of the Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation, said the foundations of detecting corporate fraud are in the “things that make you go hmmm.” Boyd, who worked […]
Lewis, SABEW winner, finds stories in markets
Everything is a market to best-selling author Michael Lewis. From the story of football player Michael Oher in “The Blind Side” to the drafting process of the Oakland A’s in “Moneyball,” Lewis said he writes about markets, not business. Lewis answered questions from “Wizard of Lies” author Diana Henriques on Friday afternoon at the annual […]
Personal finance should be biggest biz desk beat
With roots and connections to every niche of business journalism, covering personal finance should be the biggest beat in the business, a panel of top journalists in the field said Friday morning. But a misunderstood lack of variation in subject matter — on the surface — makes it seem repetitive and less relevant than other beats, […]
Reuters editor in chief Adler: We need smarter, deeper, more forward-looking stories
Here is the list from Reuters editor in chief Stephen Adler that was sent out to the troops earlier this week (It was mentioned by Reuters CEO Andrew Rashbass in this email) after his bureau chief meetings: Last week, we completed the last of our three regional bureau chief meetings. I’m sure you and […]
Frankie Flack: Lies, damn lies, statistics and business journalism
If you’re a business reporter and don’t love numbers, I don’t want anything to do with you. I love selling stories with facts and figures a lot more than I like selling sizzle. Show me market share or same-store sales or margins data, and I’ll go to town. In contrast, today’s great profile of a […]
Rumors, accuracy and the M&A beat
Only one third of stories written about companies being takeover targets between 2000 and 2011 proved to be accurate, according to research by two business school professors. “Accuracy” was defined by whether the rumored takeover target received an official offer within one year of the story. The researchers discovered that accurate rumor articles are more […]
Bloomberg Way unveils 25th anniversary edition
Bloomberg News is turning 25 next year, and in advance of its birthday the news organization published the 25th anniversary edition of its style and reporting guide “The Bloomberg Way.” The book by editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler with Jennifer Sondag, standards editor for Americas, will be available via the Bloomberg terminal and Amazon.com this week. While […]
A mix of documentation and gumshoe reporting
Chinese are using the country’s state-backed bankcards to illegally spirit billions of dollars abroad, according to a story by Reuters South China correspondent James Pomfret. He reported that near Macau’s ritzy casino resorts, hundreds of jewelry, watch and pawn shops are doing a brisk business giving mainland Chinese customers cash by allowing them to use […]
Jaffe: Biz journalists need to use data with personal examples
Business journalists need to be able to decipher complicated data and be able to explain what that data means through the use of personal examples, a senior Marketwatch columnist said Wednesday night. “Data driven reporting is quantitative and unemotional,” said Chuck Jaffe, who primarily writes about mutual funds. “Bringing it home gets the story out […]
Behind the Bloomberg News Women’s Project
Lisa Kassenaar is a veteran reporter and editor for Bloomberg News and the driving force behind the Bloomberg News Women’s Project, an initiative to ensure women are better represented in the news. Bloomberg In Depth recently spoke with Lisa to discuss the origins of the project and the extent of her involvement. Here is an […]
