Giving people economic news they want

Mallory Jean Tenore of Poynter.org writes Monday about how economics news has become increasingly important to consumers and what they want from media organizations.

Tenore writes, “Chris Peacock, executive editor and vice president of CNNMoney.com, said readers’ interest in the economy has steadily increased throughout the past few years.

“‘It actually spiked in 2008 and interest hasn’t let up,’ he said via email. ‘At first, the broad sentiment was that what happened on Wall Street didn’t concern Main Street, but that quickly changed, especially when Main Street lending froze. That was and still is, a major pillar of our coverage.’

“He found that people’s interest was initially driven by the financial crisis and what was happening to big banks. Then people began to see home values deteriorating and realized just how greatly national economic issues can hit home. Now, many are wondering how the global economy could affect them.

“‘What has surprised me most in the last year is that our audience has had an increasingly voracious appetite for understanding China’s economy,’ Peacock said. ‘Once considered mundane, reports on China’s inflation and manufacturing can now have a strong ripple effect here.’

“CNNMoney has tried to pay attention to issues that could ultimately have a great impact on Americans. More than two years ago, the site decided to put one of its reporters on the deficit full-time.”

Read more here.