BUSINESS REPORTING COMM 260W - Furness

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

Types of stories Local 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

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

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

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.

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

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.

Terms to know (pp ) 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