Colleagues, Wall Street friends and readers remember Abelson
Barron’s has collected a series of remembrances about Alan Abelson, its former editor and longtime columnist who died last week at the age of 87. Here is one from Rhonda Brammer, a More »
Discussing Friday’s Bloomberg announcement
Here is a video of Chris Roush, Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Scholar in business journalism at the University of North Carolina, talking with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo and Steve Liesman about Bloomberg More »
SF Biz Times editor to leave publication
San Francisco Business Times editor Steve Symanovich is leaving the American City Business Journals newspaper after 20 years to pursue other opportunities. A story on its website states, “‘It’s been a fabulous More »
Unanswered questions remain in Bloomberg snooping scandal
CNBC senior economics correspondent Steve Liesman writes Friday about the remaining unanswered questions surrounding the Bloomberg snooping scandal. Here are some of them: If editors knew about the issue in 2011, why More »
Marketwatch reporter Salisbury leaving for Money
Ian Salisbury, who writes for Dow Jones & Co.’s Marketwatch.com site, announced Friday to his colleagues that he is leaving the organization. “After almost 10 years, today is my last one at More »
Key lessons from the campaign trail
by Adam Levy
There are numerous public relations lessons that corporate America can glean from the presidential campaign.
There was the role of social media. Don’t alienate a core constituency (or customer base). It’s not all about advertising spending. The list is long.
China’s banks are also in need of reform
by Liz Hester
More details are emerging from the Chinese Communist Party’s meeting to select leaders, and one of the reforms they’ll have to tackle is the banking system.
The Wall Street Journal reported today about the massive task of turning Chinese banks from loaning to large state-run companies to helping people start small businesses.
The fiscal cliff – peering over the edge
by Liz Hester
Two days after the election, many in the press have turned to analyzing the fiscal cliff and how the president and congress will solve the looming problem. With less than six weeks until the end of the year, it’s not a minor problem.
First off, the Congressional Budget Office said if nothing is done the economy will be pushed back into a recession next year and unemployment would climb back to 9.1 percent by the end of 2013. More from the Wall Street Journal story:
The public relations roadblock to accessing company execs
by KBlessing
The love/hate relationship between business journalists and a company’s public relations team is a well documented one.
To heighten this already contentious relationship, companies frequently use their public relations staff as a roadblock to keep business journalists from calling C-suite executives.
The next four years for business journalists
by Liz Hester
There’s no rest for the weary, journalists or the president. Now that we’ve got a clear winner, let’s take a look at some of the biggest business stories that President Barack Obama will have to focus on in the coming months and years.
First, there’s the so-called fiscal cliff and overhaul to the tax code looming. U.S. stock market investors quickly shifted to thinking about this the day after the election, sending the Standard & Poor’s Index down 2.4 percent on Nov. 7. Here’s what the New York Times said about the situation:
Asking for more coverage of China
by Liz Hester
Since I’m avoiding writing about the presidential election, let’s take a look at some of the recent coverage of China in the business press. Besides being totally fascinating, the Communist party will officially select its new leader this week in a much different fashion than the U.S. chooses leaders.
Behind closed doors on Nov. 8, Communist party elite will select the next decade of Chinese leadership. Here’s a good explanation from the Washington Post editorial board:
Lesonsky took an Entrepreneurial-like gamble on covering small businesses
by DeanRotbart
The small business beat was quite tiny when Rieva Lesonsky first began researching it professionally in 1978.
Like so many women who came after her – both in journalism and in business – the odds of her succeeding on such an untested employment path weren’t great.
Why an investment bank deal matters
by Liz Hester
Stifel Financial agreed to buy investment bank KBW, which specialize in advising on financial services mergers, for $575 million in cash and stock. Stifel decided to take the KBW name, indicating it’s a valuable brand.
Here are a few excerpts from the New York Times story:
The metamorphosis of American City Business Journals
by Chris Roush
The 40 business newspapers operated by American City Business Journals across the country will be undergoing some changes in the next few months that will place more emphasis on delivering news digitally.
The changes are beginning to roll out in the newsrooms now and include new job descriptions, redesigned print newspapers and newsroom structure changes.
Do earnings delays matter?
by Liz Hester
It’s earnings season. With the striking by Superstorm Sandy on the nation’s financial hub, many firms delayed reporting earnings this week. The list included Pfizer Inc, Time Warner Cable Inc., Thomson Reuters Corp., Spirit Airlines, and NRG Energy Corp.
Which raises the question, does it matter that companies delay reporting? And what does it mean for reporters and editors?
Silver lining?
by Liz Hester
As much of the east coast begins to recover from “Superstorm Sandy” there is some good news for part of the economy. Yep, that’s construction, builders and the stores that supply them.
As the New York Times points out:
The business of politics
by Liz Hester
With the economy the central issue in this year’s election, it’s not surprising that many companies have been mentioned by name on the campaign trail and in ads. But none have actually had to set the record straight themselves, until now.
Chrysler, which received government support and money to get through bankruptcy during the financial crisis, had to send an email to employees today after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said it was planning to move Jeep manufacturing jobs to China.
The economic impact of Sandy
by Liz Hester
With Hurricane Sandy, the latest phenomenon of nature, bearing down on the East Coast and wrecking havoc in the business world, it seemed like a good time to take a look at how business media covers storms.
It’s also the only thing anyone’s really talking or writing about, so I have little choice. As someone who recently left New York City for the quiet of North Carolina, it’s a bit odd to watch my friends suffer the suspense that many here consider a part of every October.
Biz editors adjust to market closures due to Sandy
by Chris Roush
As Hurricane Sandy wreaks havoc along the Atlantic coast, forcing markets in New York to close on Monday and Tuesday, business editors around the country are adjusting their coverage and sections.
The market closure means that daily newspapers that typically run stock agate on a daily basis now have to find other content to fill that space.
New York Times unveils hidden wealth for Chinese leaders
by Liz Hester
The New York Times’s David Barboza published an incredible story Friday, Oct. 26 on the hidden wealth of Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao’s family. In the magazine length piece, Barboza details the power, business dealings and wealth the prime minister’s family has amassed during his political tenure.
The story is an impressive piece of journalism, especially given the Chinese government’s censorship, lack of business disclosure and that top party officials and their families are exempt from disclosing their holdings. That’s right, Barboza pieced together all the information in a country that actively hides and covers up stories.
Just be transparent about it
by Adam Levy
A growing trend in journalism revolves around branded or sponsored content — individuals or companies pay to place their editorial creations alongside the “real” journalism.
It’s not new; advertorials have been around for a while.
Yet another mortgage lawsuit filed
by Liz Hester
There’s another large bank being sued by the U.S. government this week – Bank of America. What’s new, you may ask, which is reasonable since it seems there’s another large bank suit every day.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The stock market’s wild ride
by Liz Hester
After dropping almost 4 percent in three days, the stock market closed down again Wednesday after showing a few signs of rebounding. Market volatility isn’t anything new for investors, but it does beg the question of what exactly should we believe?
Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal story explains the losses through Tuesday:
Private equity stories proliferate as the election approaches
by KBlessing
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s famed background as a successful businessman has given a multitude of journalists, particularly business journalists, a topic of renewed interest to cover this election season that is usually left to the few — the private equity beat.
Romney’s past as a consultant and then co-founder of Bain Capital LLC, one of the largest private equity firms with assets of $65 billion, has brought private equity from out of the shadows and into the harsh limelight.
Google could hurt small online sites
by Liz Hester
The Federal Trade Commission is still looking for charges that will stick to Google, according to Quartz. But Sunday’s New York Times had an interesting story pointing out the problems businesses can face when Google changes its search algorithm or traffic funneled from the search engine drops.
The story profiles online retailer Nextag, which earlier this year saw traffic to its site dropping. From the story: