Clifford Cumber, the business editor of the Frederick News-Post in Maryland and a board member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, writes Saturday about how business remains extremely relevant to his readers despite efforts by large metro newspapers to cut its business content.
Cumber writes, “In April, at the conference, I’d only been business editor for a few days more than a year. This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. If these giants couldn’t save their sections, what hope did I have for my one page a day? I felt like a small ship on a very large, very stormy ocean.
“But as I listened, I realized that things at The News-Post aren’t on the same track as these national dinosaurs. For one, we don’t really care that much about the earnings, say, of major national corporations. Not unless they affect you directly.
“What we do best is cover our own backyard. For example, take the recent banner headline about the financially troubled department store Boscov’s.
“People had e-mailed us about it: ‘What about Frederick?’ they asked. So, we went and found out. A few weeks ago, coffee chain Starbucks — a victim, like Boscov’s, of expanding too quickly — announced it would close 600 or so stores. Again, people wanted us to tell them how it would affect Frederick.”
OLD Media Moves
How business news can be important to readers
August 16, 2008
Clifford Cumber, the business editor of the Frederick News-Post in Maryland and a board member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, writes Saturday about how business remains extremely relevant to his readers despite efforts by large metro newspapers to cut its business content.
Cumber writes, “In April, at the conference, I’d only been business editor for a few days more than a year. This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. If these giants couldn’t save their sections, what hope did I have for my one page a day? I felt like a small ship on a very large, very stormy ocean.
“But as I listened, I realized that things at The News-Post aren’t on the same track as these national dinosaurs. For one, we don’t really care that much about the earnings, say, of major national corporations. Not unless they affect you directly.
“What we do best is cover our own backyard. For example, take the recent banner headline about the financially troubled department store Boscov’s.
“People had e-mailed us about it: ‘What about Frederick?’ they asked. So, we went and found out. A few weeks ago, coffee chain Starbucks — a victim, like Boscov’s, of expanding too quickly — announced it would close 600 or so stores. Again, people wanted us to tell them how it would affect Frederick.”
Read more here.
Media News
FT/Schroders seek Business Book of the Year entries
April 22, 2024
Media News
Behme departs Crain’s Chicago after nearly 20 years
April 22, 2024
Media News
Fierce Biotech’s Masson now associate editor
April 22, 2024
Media News
Hollywood Reporter hires Ford as its UK reporter
April 22, 2024
Highlighted News
Bankadelic podcast: The state of banking 2024 in two parts
April 22, 2024
Subscribe to TBN
Receive updates about new stories in the industry daily or weekly.