How Sqoop helps business journalists break news

Bill Hankes is founder and CEO of Sqoop, a news discovery service journalists use to discover news tips from public data sites such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and federal court system. Although Sqoop is less than a year old, it has quickly gained advocates in newsrooms. “Based on […]

When company earnings become a story

Paul O’Donnell, the business editor of the Dallas Morning News, writes about how his reporters cover earnings stories. O’Donnell writes, “We add value for our readers by providing meaningful analysis of quarterly results. Our retailing writer, Maria Halkias, knows the story of J.C. Penney’s turnaround better than anyone who isn’t involved in actually executing it. […]

Take Talking Biz News’ social media survey

Social media has become a part of our everyday lives, and reporters seem to be using it more than ever. We at Talking Biz News want to know how often you use social often and what you’re using it for. TAKE THE SURVEY HERE. In October, the Columbia Journalism Review detailed journalists use of social […]

FT reporter: Biz reporting is “people making mistakes and errors and strokes of genius”

Tyler Rothmar of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan profiles Leo Lewis, a Financial Times correspondent in Tokyo. Rothmar writes, “Although he writes on a variety of topics, financial journalism is closest to his heart. ‘When it’s done well,’ he says, ‘you overlay a narrative and treat it as any other kind of journalism, in that you’re […]

Dear beat reporters: You better know other sectors as well

There are lots of business sectors. And they are fun to cover. And not just as individual beats, but as a group. “Sectors? Careful, you’re dating yourself,” said an editor acquaintance during a recent meeting. She gestured out at the vast newsroom beyond her office. “Most of the kids out there wouldn’t know what you’re […]

How Ed Silverman’s Pharmalot blog has built reader loyalty

Justin Ellis of the Nieman Journalism Lab interviewed Pharmalot blogger Ed Silverman, whose blog covering the pharmaceutical industry now resides at the Boston Globe’s State. Here is an excerpt: Ellis: How has your reporting changed as a result of writing Pharmalot for so long? Silverman: When I first started it in early 2007, the pieces were […]

Morningstar drops service used by business journalists

Talking Biz News received the following email earlier this week from a business reporter: We have an $800/year subscription to a Morningstar product that allows us to set an alert for all SEC filings made by Oregon companies. Morningstar is eliminating the product and steering folks to Intelligize, which costs $3,500/year. That’s out of our […]

Farzad’s unorthodox approach to business journalism

Style Weekly in Richmond, Va., profiles Roben Farzad, the former Businessweek writer and now host of public radio’s “Full Disclosure.” Farzad writes, “The show airs thought-provoking interviews from an economic perspective with local guests you might recognize, plus big-name journalists, high-powered business executives and pundits. “One example of Farzad’s unorthodox approach to business coverage: He […]

Should reporters know the business model of their outlet?

Is it important that reporters understand the business model of their publisher/broadcaster? The question came up last week at the McGraw Symposium, one of the sessions at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ Fall Conference. Rebecca Blumenstein of the Wall Street Journal suggested that it didn’t hurt as long as the divide between […]

When CEOs complain about negative business coverage

Olivia Barrow, a reporter for the Milwaukee Business Journal, writes about how chief executive officers and other business executives complain that they only receive negative coverage from the financial media. Barrow writes, “In my case, writing for a local business publication, I write stories that aim to help businesses grow by giving them leads they […]