Newsletter launches on better writing
Chicago-based marketing and communications agency M. Harris & Co., run by former business journalist Melissa Harris, has launched a paid newsletter about better writing. “Get Me Rewrite” costs $7 a month, or $60 a year. Twice a week, M. Harris & Co.’s writers — former Chicago Tribune metro editor Mark Jacob, former Los Angeles Times investigative […]
What defines a business news story
Lesley Weidenbener, the editor of the Indianapolis Business journal, writes about how the publication determines a business news story. Weidenbener writes, “IBJ defines ‘business coverage’ more broadly than many business journals. Few have a full-time Statehouse reporter, like our Lindsey Erdody, for example. Or a reporter dedicated to the suburbs, like we do in Kurt […]
WSJ to staff: Watch how you describe the economy
The regular Wall Street Journal newsletter to its staff warns reporters and editors on how they describe the economy. The newsletter reads: For example, the economy appears to be in recovery now, and steps were already taken this year by the government and Congress. It is a difficult situation with real challenges, but not a […]
Reuters EIC Adler: Information lets readers decide
Reuters editor in chief Stephen Adler writes for Nieman Reports on the importance of providing information that lets readers make decisions. Adler writes, “That’s why we avoid loaded language and instead describe statements and behaviors in detail, in context, and without characterizing them with conclusory adjectives. “In teaching journalistic ethics, a mentor of mine, Barney Calame, made […]
The use of “critics” and “experts” in the WSJ
William Power and Jennifer Hicks write in The Wall Street Journal Style & Substance blog that its reporters need to be more careful using the words “critics” and “experts.” Power and Hicks write, “‘Critics and Experts’ sounds like the name of the worst Woody Allen movie, as our Editor in Chief Matt Murray cinematically puts it. “In fact, […]
A tech reporter’s challenge: Cutting through the hype
Roberto Torres, a reporter at CIO Dive, covering the software industry, data analytics and the future of technology, spoke with UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor Andy Bechtel about his job. Here is an excerpt: Q. What are the unique challenges to covering the technology beat? A. Given my niche beat, one crucial challenge is to consistently deliver […]
Bloomberg EIC Micklethwait: We publish too many mediocre and long enterprise stories
Bloomberg News editor in chief John Micklethwait sent the following to the editorial staff on Wednesday: To All in Editorial & Research, Enterprise We are still publishing too many enterprise stories that are either mediocre or too long, or both. Before you embark on a piece of enterprise, ask yourself whether it’s really going to be worth […]
Easton: The art of storytelling is being a good listener
Dean Rotbart of Business News Luminaries spoke with Nina Easton, a former Fortune journalist who co-runs its “Most Powerful Women” franchise, as part of celebrating top business journalists of the 21st century. “Storytelling and capture the visions of leaders in a range of industries and politics and journalism is one of the most important contributions […]
NY Times econ reporter: 42 percent of my sources in 2019 were women
New York Times economics reporter Ben Casselman kept track of his sources in 2019 and reports that 42 percent of them were women. Fifteen percent of his sources were minorities. Focusing specifically on people quoted as experts such as economists, political scientists, and industry Casselman reported that 44 percent were women and 11 percent were people of […]
The strategy behind a Bloomberg Businessweek story
Joel Weber, the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek, spoke with students at Tsinghua University in Beijing about how the magazine tries to differentiate its content. Nico Gous writes, “A relentless diet of scandal stories tires audiences, Weber said. That is why Businessweek also covers people trying to solve problems. To do that, Weber wants all Bloomberg […]
