How to “cover” the solar industry
Carter Lavin writes, tongue firmly in cheek, on Clean Technica about how business journalists should write about the solar industry. Lavin writes, “The solar industry is convoluted and relatively esoteric, so when good business reporters write about the business, it’s not a surprise that they don’t get everything correct, but it is a shame. These […]
Ford earnings mixed as Europe struggles
Writing about earnings should be one of the most straightforward business stories. But for larger multinational firms it can sometimes be a bit more difficult. Take for example Ford’s fourth-quarter results, which came out on Tuesday. Here’s how the Wall Street Journal presented the earnings: Ford Motor Co. posted fourth quarter net income of a $1.6 […]
Frankie Flack: Why quote approval is sometimes necessary
Editor’s note: Here is the latest missive from Frankie Flack, our anonymous New York-based PR executive. In July of last year Jeremy Peters of The New York Times penned a piece titled “Latest Word on the Trail? I Take It Back” that struck like a sudden earthquake in the journalism and public relations field. Peters deftly […]
A job for outgoing people
Rich Edson, Fox Business Network’s Washington correspondent, was interviewed by Leslie Stone of Opportunist magazine about his career. Here is an excerpt: Opportunist: When you joined Fox, was it difficult to build your network of sources and leads? Edson: This is a job for outgoing people. You’ve got to be able to begin conversations and […]
Different perspectives on Google’s earnings
Google reported earnings Tuesday, and depending on which version of the story you read, you might come away with a different perspective on the search giant’s performance. There were several metrics to measure for the company, so it’s interesting to see how the major business papers covered the report. The Wall Street Journal led with […]
Obama starts second term
The news Monday was mostly all about President Obama’s inauguration and his speech outlining plans for his second administration. Many of the issues that the country will face will have an impact on businesses, including climate change, gun control, tax reform and creating a more equitable society. While the story is mostly political and national, […]
Boeing’s 787 headache
The news reports about troubles with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner have been abundant since the fleet was grounded. Two separate incidences – one in the U.S. and one in Japan – led to regulators stopping the planes from flying on Jan. 16. And Boeing is still in the news. On Sunday, the U.S. investigation released additional […]
No biz reporter ever says, “I want to cover the insurance industry”
Jim Romenesko has excerpted some parts of an interview that New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg did with Longform.org about journalism and his career. Here is an excerpt: On interviewing with the New York Times “I went in and I said, ‘I want to apply for the telcom job.’ We talked about telecom. I […]
Following a scoop
The New York Times scored a major scoop Monday night when they broke the news that AIG was thinking of joining a lawsuit against the U.S. government. Here are some of the details from its story published Jan. 7 at 10:30 p.m.: Fresh from paying back a $182 billion bailout, the American International Group has been […]
Thinking about viewers while doing interviews
Wanchee Wang of the University of Pennsylvania alumni magazine profiles Bloomberg Television anchor Betty Liu about her career in business journalism. Wang writes, “‘I always think about viewers when I’m doing an interview,’ Betty Liu C’95 is saying. ‘If they’re going to spend five minutes with me and listen in on an interview, what do […]
