business reporting comm 260w - furness. keys to good business reporting emphasis the human element...
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BUSINESS REPORTINGCOMM 260W - Furness
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Keys to good business reporting• Emphasis the human element• Explain difficult concepts and trends in clear language• Look at intersections between business, the economy,
and politics
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Types of storiesLocal
• Mainly focused around small businesses - opening or closing of a store, successes and failures, friendly faces, etc.
Earnings• How a company performed in the quarter, the year, or compared with
previous quarters or years.
Mergers & Acquisitions• Details about the deals – purchase price, ownership, future plans• Consequences for workers or communities
Puff Pieces• Stories that basically function as free advertising for companies, thought
some can still make for good human interest pieces
Writing about the economy• Helps readers understand finance• Helps readers understand trends or, perhaps, wrongdoing
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Economic news
Data is key for good stories on the economy• Unemployment rates• Consumer price index (measures inflation)• Consumer confidence• Interest rate changes• Trade issues• Gross Domestic Product (measures growth or decline of the
nation’s economy on a monthly basis).
BUT…
Going beyond the numbers, and digging into other kinds of data & analysis is, is the sign of good economic reporting
• Stories about corporate raiders, insider trading, bad investments, scams, policy changes
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Good contacts for business reporting• Bank officers, tellers• Savings and loan officials• Chamber of Commerce secretaries• Union leaders• Securities dealers• Financial analysts• Real estate brokers• Trade organization officials• Teachers of business, economics, political economy• Transportation company officials• Federal and state agencies such as the Small Business
Administration, Commerce Department• Employees and former employees
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Types of companies
Publicly Held• Company is owned by investors who bought its stock• Stock is traded on exchange or market where value is determined
by what investors pay to own it• These companies must file documents with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) and publish annual reports
Privately Held• Company is usually controlled by a small group or family• Stock is not publicly traded on an exchange• Value is set by owners and information is difficult to obtain• May (or may not) be regulated by a state or federal agency, which
has some info about the company.
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Other kinds of stories• Bankruptcy• Credit card debt• Student debt• Housing crisis• Municipal Bonds (financing for city, county and state
projects often comes from selling bonds) – see p. 466
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Skepticism and doubt are key• Good business reporters need to understand the jargon
and they need to know the numbers. By doing so they can take people to task and hold them accountable to the truth.
• Financial officials, corporate officers, and economic experts should not be treated with ‘awe’ simply because they are experts in a field that the general public does not always understand.
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Terms to know (pp. 469 - 470)• Acquisition• Assets• Balance sheet• Bankruptcy• Fiscal Year• Capital Expenditures• Debt• Earnings• Initial Public Offering (IPO)• Liabilities• Merger• Sales or Revenues • Short Selling• Stockholders’ equity• Deficit
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