Tag Archives: Information
New Oregonian biz editor wants to emphasize multimedia stories
by Chris Roush
Scott Bernard Nelson, the new business edior at The Oregonian in Portland, plans to boost daily reporting and multi-media storytelling.
Richard Read of the paper writes, “Nelson, 40, has served as deputy business editor, breaking news editor, online enterprise editor and Portland editor since joining The Oregonian in 2003. He plans to take a newsier approach to coverage, building on what he sees as the newspaper’s strong consumer and in-depth enterprise reporting.
“‘We’ll be more aggressive about doing the daily business report, and more multi-media focused than we have been in the past,’ Nelson said. ‘That’s the direction of information consumption in the country.”‘
“A Reedsport native, Nelson graduated cum laude from Linfield College with a B.A. in mass communications and political science. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland and a certificate in financial planning from the University of South Florida.”
Read more here.
Wisconsin biz publication ceases
by Chris Roush
The Capital Region Business Journal, a monthly online magazine produced by the Wisconsin State Journal, is publishing its last edition this month.
A story in the State Journal states, “The print magazine was launched in April 2005 for business leaders in nine counties, and it later became a web publication.
“Its most popular features will be preserved to anchor a new business data center online, expected to start this summer on the State Journal’s business web pages.
“Newspaper staff members working on the Business Journal will shift their focus to the newspaper’s core print and web operations.”
Read more here.
Harvard Business Review looking to apply its own advice
by Chris Roush
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson of the Financial Times writes about the Harvard Business Review, which is looking to apply some of the business suggestions in its articles.
Edgecliffe-Johnson writes, “Mr Macht and Adi Ignatius, a former senior journalist at Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal who became editor-in-chief in January 2009, pulled their teams together last month for a two-day ‘offsite’ meeting, to start a debate that they hope will produce a new business model by January. The whiteboard presentations, discussing everything from how many issues of the $16.95-a-copy magazine HBR should print a year to how to price subscriptions for tablets, would look familiar in any business school, but are rare in publishing.
“‘I worked at Time and the Wall Street Journal, which were fairly hostile to management-y approaches to things,’ Mr Ignatius says.
“Rarer still is the notion popularised in HBR’s pages by the late Peter Drucker of ‘creative abandonment.’ The question of what to stop doing is ‘one of the toughest things’ for any business, Mr Macht adds.
“After HBR’s own creative abandonment sessions, Mr Ignatius says, ‘we killed a couple of things instantly,’ including the Answer Exchange a community-driven online feature it had launched with some fanfare but which consumed more manpower than expected. ‘We’re no longer even pretending to accept unsolicited manuscripts for books,’ he adds.”
Read more here.
New editor named for banking magazine
by Chris Roush
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Heather Landy has been named the editor of American Banker magazine, which is replacing U.S. Banker.
She technically replaces Alan Kline, who was the editor of U.S. Banker.
Landy tells Talking Biz News that she is currently closing on her first issue, which is a total redesign. The magazine, which is owned by SourceMedia, is changing its name with the July issue.
“Our front-of-book Briefings will analyze important events and trends in banking, with a distinct point of view,” said Landy in an e-mail about changes to the magazines. “Metrics & Measures will use datasets to tell narratives about the industry. The Circuit will provide behind-the-scenes coverage of conferences and gatherings, to give a good sense of themes and the overall vibe to readers who couldn’t be there themselves.
“And we’ll have a compelling mix of features each month about the people and ideas driving the industry. We want to curate a strong companion to the daily American Banker, with the perspective that a monthly can bring, and with visual elements that emphasize big ideas and individual personalities.”
Landy has been with American Banker for the past two years, covering large institutions for the daily.
Landy previously was a special correspondent in New York for the Washington Post from August 2008 to January 2009, covering Wall Street and the financial markets.
Before that, Landy spent four years with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered business and was also a journalism instructor at Texas Christian University.
In 2007 she won a Gerald Loeb Award, one of the highest honors in business journalism, while reporting on the retail industry for The Star-Telegram. She began her career at Bloomberg News in Chicago and New York, covering various beats including corporate finance, retailing and heavy industry.
Why there are jobs in business journalism
by Chris Roush
Alexis Grant, who writes about business for US News & World Report, writes on her personal blog about why a career in business journalism is the way to go.
Grant writes, “Why are there opportunities in biz journalism? Maybe because there’s a paucity of journalists who have the know-how to cover business-related topics. Or maybe because business beats haven’t been shrunk or eliminated quite as badly as other beats, like foreign and Washington bureaus.
“Whatever the reason, this opportunity is screaming out to young journalists. Take it and run with it.
“But you don’t want to cover business, you say? Here’s the secret, what I wish someone had told me when I used that reasoning years ago: Plenty of business journalism jobs don’t focus solely on business. You may need an understanding of money and economics to handle those beats, but lots of gigs have a money slant rather than a business-only focus.
“Let me give you a few examples. Take my beat, careers. I write mostly practical pieces focused on hiring trends or how to look for a job, so a financial background isn’t necessary. But my competitors at, say, The Wall Street Journal, write job-search stories that have more of an economics bent — while still shedding light on a practical topic that applies to the general public. My colleague who covers personal finance is successful largely because of her knack for bringing sometimes-complicated money topics down to a level where she can help readers with everyday problems, like how to afford a house or a baby or a sabbatical.
“And plenty of business reporters who work for local publications tell stories of the rise and fall not only of businesses, but of the people who run them. Of course, that’s the secret sauce behind any journalistic endeavor, to show how whatever you’re writing about affects people.”
Read more here.
Don’t forget about rate requests
by Chris Roush
Hal Morris, writing on his GrumpyEditor.com blog, reminds business journalists to regularly check rate filing requests from utilities at state public service commissions.
Morris writes, “In covering utilities and their constant parade of rate increase proposals before state public utility commissions, business writers should do a bit of fact checking, even if it means looking at their own bills, rather than following information put out by the companies, suggests Grumpy Editor.
“For example, already-squeezed customers of Nevada power utility NV Energy — in a state already among those with the highest electricity rates in the West — are grumbling about state Public Utilities Commission approval Monday of a 3.4 percent rate increase that goes into effect on July 1.
“The boost seems modest enough, especially when New York Stock Exchange-listed NV Energy puts ‘the average residential bill’ extra cost at a mere $5.29 a month.
“But when customers, most living in air-conditioned homes, view their electric bill for July, they’ll see a total close to $300 — or more, figuring a single-story 2,400-square-foot home. That will be $10 to $15 above the like month a year prior.
“NV Energy bills include an assortment of fees and charges, such as basic service charge, local government fee, universal energy charge, temporary green power financing and renewable energy program.”
Read more here.
U.S. business journalism’s issues are nothing compared to those in Russia
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For the past week, Talking Biz News has been in Moscow to give lectures and seminars on business journalism at Moscow State University, which has the largest journalism program in the Russian Federation and recently started an undergraduate business journalism program.
I’ve had conversations with current business journalists and those that want to enter the profession. Here are some observations:
1. Many students want to be business journalists in Russia, but they are also afraid because it is common for journalists in this country to be beaten up and even killed when they write something that is killed. (Paul Klebnikov, the editor of Forbes Russia, was killed in 2004, for example.) I was asked several times why American business journalists were not physically abused.
2. There is also retribution. A reporter for an international wire service was recently banned from covering prime minister Vladimir Putin because she asked him during a news conference about the falling value of the ruble, the Russian currency. The reporters at the news conference had been instructed not to ask Putin about the ruble, but this reporter did so anyway. I told the journalists that I talked to that this is also a common strategy in the United States.
3. Many of the business journalists working for international media in Russia believe that the local businessmen are more likely to give scoops and information to the two local business newspapers — Vedomosti and Kommersant — than they are to their media. While there was a hint of sour grapes in the comment, the belief of other journalists was that the Russian businessmen often don’t care to talk to the international business media.
4. Accounting rules in Russia are different than in the United States, but the basics remain the same. However, Russian companies report EBITDA, which is the common earnings number that journalists write about here.
5. Many of the business journalism students want to leave Russia and work for American business media organizations.
Many thanks to Andrei Virkovsky of Moscow State, who runs the business journalism program, for inviting me.
A business editor working hard
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Dave Dreeszen, the business editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa, has been working hard lately.
A story on the paper’s site states, “Besides his regular duties, Dreeszen took on a greater leadership role by spearheading the 2011 Progress section, said editor Mitch Pugh, who nominated him for the award.
“In addition to writing some two dozens stories for the five Progress sections, Dreeszen assigned and edited other reporters’ stories, as well as contributions from freelancers.
“‘Everyone sacrifices to make Progress successful, but without Dave’s hard work, our sections would not have been nearly as robust as they were,’ Pugh wrote in his nomination letter.
“During that period, several significant business stories also broke. Most notably, Dreeszen wrote a breaking, exclusive story on Sioux City’s plans for the former John Morrell site.
“Dreeszen, who received his bachelor’s degree from Central College at Pella, Iowa, joined the Journal news staff as a general assignment and political reporter in 1989. He was named city hall reporter in 1993 and business editor in 1998.”
Read more here.
Las Vegas paper names new biz editor
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The Las Vegas Review Journal on Monday named veteran journalist James G. Wright as business editor.
A story in its website states, “Wright also will oversee the Las Vegas Business Press, a weekly business-to-business magazine produced by the Review-Journal staff.
“Review-Journal Editor Michael Hengel announced the appointment.
“‘Jim’s skill and experience will serve our readers well,’ Hengel said. ‘We want to be the first place that readers turn to for business news about Southern Nevada, particularly our coverage of gaming and tourism. I am excited about what Jim brings to the position.’
“Publisher Bob Brown said the Review-Journal is committed to emphasizing local news in the business section. ‘In business, our franchise is local. We want to be the best we can be at covering the people who make a difference and the issues that matter most.’”
Read more here.
U.S. business journalism's issues are nothing compared to those in Russia
by Chris Roush
For the past week, Talking Biz News has been in Moscow to give lectures and seminars on business journalism at Moscow State University, which has the largest journalism program in the Russian Federation and recently started an undergraduate business journalism program.
I’ve had conversations with current business journalists and those that want to enter the profession. Here are some observations:
2. There is also retribution. A reporter for an international wire service was recently banned from covering prime minister Vladimir Putin because she asked him during a news conference about the falling value of the ruble, the Russian currency. The reporters at the news conference had been instructed not to ask Putin about the ruble, but this reporter did so anyway. I told the journalists that I talked to that this is also a common strategy in the United States.
3. Many of the business journalists working for international media in Russia believe that the local businessmen are more likely to give scoops and information to the two local business newspapers — Vedomosti and Kommersant — than they are to their media. While there was a hint of sour grapes in the comment, the belief of other journalists was that the Russian businessmen often don’t care to talk to the international business media.
4. Accounting rules in Russia are different than in the United States, but the basics remain the same. However, Russian companies report EBITDA, which is the common earnings number that journalists write about here.
5. Many of the business journalism students want to leave Russia and work for American business media organizations.
Many thanks to Andrei Virkovsky of Moscow State, who runs the business journalism program, for inviting me.