LA Biz Journal hires two new reporters
The Los Angeles Business Journal has hired two new reporters for its staff, according to an email from managing editor Jonathan Diamond. Kay Chinn, a recent graduate of master’s program at USC’s More »
The great and powerful Jon Hilsenrath
Barbara Kollmeyer of Marketwatch.com writes about recent coverage of the Federal Reserve Board. Kollmeyer writes, “After all the seriousness about the Fed meeting that kicks off Tuesday, Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist More »
The six Fed reporters who can make the market go crazy
Steven Perlberg lists for Business Insider the six Federal Reserve reporters who can make the markets go crazy. His top four are: 1. Jon Hilsenrath, The Wall Street Journal; 2. Greg Ip, The More »
Florida biz journal hires managing editor
Timothy Gibbons, business editor at the Times-Union, is leaving to become managing editor at the Jacksonville Business Journal. Kate Howard Perry of the Times-Union writes, “Gibbons has been with the Times-Union for More »
WSJ tech reporter is leaving
Jessica Lessin, a San Francisco-based senior technology reporter at the Wall Street Journal of several years, is quitting (somewhat abruptly) to launch her own tech website, reports Sam Biddle at Valleywag. Biddle More »
The intersection of business and politics
by Liz Hester
There have been many stories recently about Silicon Valley’s new campaigns to influence immigration policy. Most recently, the New York Times ran a piece analyzing the campaign reminding me that this is an especially interesting topic for business journalists.
Here are excerpts from the Times story, which leads with pointing out that Republican Marco Rubio is the center of commercials sponsored by the technology industry arguing for reform.
The latest on Fannie and Freddie
by Liz Hester
With the nomination of North Carolina representative Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, coverage of the agency and where it is heading was back in the spotlight on Thursday.
Watt, a known advocate of principal reduction for those underwater on their mortgages, may have a difficult time getting confirmed by the Senate, but it will spark a debate on what to do with the government entities.
American City Business Journals papers see results with changes
by Chris Roush
The early results of American City Business Journals‘ overhaul of its San Jose, Calif., paper has resulted in a growth in circulation, online readers and revenue, so the Charlotte-based owner of 40 business weeklies plans to begin rolling out the changes to its other papers.
“We’re pretty close to rolling out the design in other markets,” said Emory Thomas, the chief content officer at ACBJ and the former editor and publisher of its Seattle paper, in a telephone interview Thursday with Talking Biz News.
Why business news weeklies get into holding events
by Aaron Kremer
In an ideal world, a business would only have to do one thing very well to ensure a steady source of revenue.
The news business doesn’t work that way.
Slight shift in Federal Reserve policy
by Liz Hester
The closely watched Federal Reserve meeting this week had some investors and journalists looking for changes to the bond-buying plans that have been in effect for much of the past year. And they got it with the Fed signaling that it might increase the purchases if necessary, a shift from previous statement they would remain constant.
Here’s the story from the Wall Street Journal:
Piecing together economic news
by Liz Hester
This week is a big one for economic news with housing reports, the Federal Reserve meeting and confidence numbers in just the first two days. The national news outlooks chose to focus on different pieces of the equation. While there’s no easy way to pull it all together, let’s take a look at what we have so far.
The New York Times did an A1 piece Tuesday about expectations for Federal Reserve monetary policy given the nascent recovery in the economy, but not employment numbers:
Kodak turns over businesses to pension plan
by Liz Hester
In a move to settle a bankruptcy claim, Kodak has given two iconic business units to a U.K. pension plan.
Here are the basic details from the Bloomberg story:
Mathisen talks “Nightly Business Report”
by Chris Roush
Tyler Mathisen co-anchors CNBC‘s “Power Lunch” and is vice president for strategic editorial initiatives working closely with CNBC’s business development and marketing teams on strategic initiatives and alliances.
Mathisen also co-anchors “Nightly Business Report produced by CNBC,” an award-winning evening business news program for U.S. public television that CNBC acquired earlier this year.
The changing face of public relations
by Liz Hester
Fleishman-Hillard is rebranding and shifting the company’s strategy. First, they’re deleting the hyphen from the name (since that will be effective as a rebrand) and moving to offer other services like social media planning.
Here are excerpts from the New York Times story:
Why aren’t journalists allowed to ask questions on earnings calls?
by KBlessing
The quarterly earnings call is much more than a casual conversation among a company’s executives, analysts, investors and the media — it’s a carefully scripted dialogue that is practiced well in advance of a call.
The planning and preparation that goes into an earnings call allow little room for journalists to fire questions that may throw an executive off message or make them appear ignorant about a topic in front of a large audience that has the power to push a company’s stock price upward or send it plummeting.
Software glitch delays trading
by Liz Hester
Trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange was delayed for more than three hours Thursday due to a software glitch, once again highlighted the fragile nature of making money trading.
Here are some of the details from Bloomberg:
SEC may require companies to disclose political donations
by Liz Hester
There was an interesting story in the New York Times about the intersection of the business and political worlds. Several lawmakers are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to require companies to disclose political contributions, creating some transparency in the murky world of big donations.
Here are some of the details:
Trustee sues Corzine over MF Global collapse
by Liz Hester
Just weeks after entering settlement talks, the bankruptcy trustee for MF Global sued former CEO Jon Corzine for actions leading to the collapse of the brokerage.
Here’s the story from the New York Times:
Taking a closer look at the housing market
by Liz Hester
There were several pieces on Monday about the state of the housing market after sales of existing homes dropped slightly, according to the National Association of Realtors. One of my favorite parts about covering data that’s released every month is reading the lead anecdotes reporters find to illustrate the trends.
Here’s the lead from the Wall Street Journal story:
Koch brothers eye Tribune Co.
by Liz Hester
Koch Industries, controlled by billionaires Charles and David of the same name, is now looking to expand their reach to the media, something new for the conglomerate.
Here’s the story from the New York Times:
Stocks drop after earnings reports
by Liz Hester
Remember when the market was peaking? Well, it seems that all that optimism on corporate performance was misplaced. Several companies have reported earnings that missed analysts estimates, prompting investors to pair back exposure to stocks.
Let’s start with the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the market:
IMF warns on monetary policy
by Liz Hester
The International Monetary Fund issued a report warning to finance ministers cautioning against continued stimulus.
Here’s the story from the Financial Times:
I cover hedge funds, not skin cream
by Bill C. Smith
For public relations professionals, building strong relationships with reporters is the best way to collaborate on story ideas. However, PR pros are occasionally tasked with getting exposure in a completely new area, one in which they cannot rely on their current contact list.
In these situations, it is best to do a thorough background check instead of pitching a reporter with a blind email or call—and ruin the effectiveness of proper pitching techniques for the rest of us.
Housing poised for more gains?
by Liz Hester
There were a couple of stories out Tuesday about housing and its current state. While seeming unrelated, together they help readers make a prediction about which way the market will go.
The first story about new home starts comes from the Wall Street Journal:
Frankie Flack: In a crisis, focus on those affected, not the biz media
by Frankie Flack
Given the events of last week, it seems appropriate to spend some time discussing communications principles in the time of a crisis for a business.
There are a number of ways to define a crisis, and in fact, there are many divergent views on how best to handle a corporate crisis from a PR perspective.