Quartz publisher: Why we go short, or very long
Quartz publisher Jay Lauf spoke at the Nieman Foundation and his comments have been posted on the Nieman Journalism Lab website. Here are his comments about the story lengths on Quartz stories: We tend to focus on stories that are either short, meaning under 500 words, or longer, deeply investigated pieces. We use analytics as […]
Entrepreneur editor: Prank us on April Fools’ and you’re banned
“Earned” media should be earned. And coming up with something asinine on April Fools’ doesn’t cut it. Wednesday is the day of fake press releases. Companies spend a depressingly large amount of time finding a cute way to get attention for their clients by writing prank releases, in the hope that A) we business journalists […]
When PR and biz journalism collide
Kim Kleman, the editor of American Lawyer, writes about when her reporters clash with the public relations professionals they work with. Kleman writes, “Lately, though, it’s as if some PR folks don’t understand that the job of a reporter is different from that of a publicist. (The confusion could be coming from their lawyer bosses, […]
The labor beat is far from dead
David Uberti of Columbia Journalism Review writes about the increasing number of media outlets interested in covering the labor beat. Uberti writes, “‘There is no firm line that separates labor from anything else,’ said Josh Eidelson, a former union organizer who now covers labor for Bloomberg Businessweek. ‘I don’t think it’s possible or productive to […]
Insight: How to cover tech news
Most people wouldn’t associate technology with Phoenix, but in the past few years, Arizona’s capital has taken on a new identity. It’s called the Silicon Desert, and tech companies are flocking to be a part of it. This growing popularity is due in part to the capital city’s affordable real estate and proximity to Silicon […]
Trib’s Rosenthal has new column called Margin Call
Michael Miner of the Chicago Reader praises the new column by Chicago Tribune business columnist Phil Rosenthal called Margin Call full of short items. Miner writes, “Margin Call is a quick read raised by the power of ten. It’s got the flavor of a sports column too, because that’s where the column’s roots are. If […]
The story behind the NYT’s financial incentives story
Jackie Faye of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism’s “Covering Business” interviewed Louise Story of the New York Times about her investigative series on financial incentives that states give to companies to entice them to move their operations. Here is an excerpt: Faye: Was there an ah-ha moment in your reporting? Story: The biggest thing […]
Deep-dive research that exposes corporate wrongdoings
UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor Andy Bechtel interviewed Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation founder Roddy Boyd about his work as an investigative business journalist. Here is an excerpt: Q. What is SIRF? What is the site trying to achieve? A. The Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation is seeking to use investigative reporting to stand in the gap left […]
King of the A-heds returns for WSJ
Matthew Kassel of the New York Observer writes about Barry Newman, a Wall Street Journal feature writer whose front-page stories were legendary and whose work returned to the paper this weekend for the first time after he retired in 2013. Kassel writes, “Mr. Newman’s page one story, ‘Is the Time Ripe for Baby Bananas?,’ is a […]
Bloomberg looks at better leads to engage readers
Bill Grueskin, the executive editor of training at Bloomberg News, sent out a memo to the editorial staff on Monday about how the news organization’s lead writing can be used to better engage its audiences. Here is an excerpt: We usually think of a lead as the first paragraph of the story. Occasionally, one paragraph […]
