Tips & Guides: Business Reporting

Business and finance reporters cover everything from local store openings and closings, to quarterly earnings of companies, to features about new products and company leaders. Reporters on this beat also write interpretive or analytical stories about the effects of national or international economic activity on industries as well as on cities and regions within different countries.

Although business and finance reporting might seem intimidating, a good reporter can develop many excellent business stories. These tips can help you construct good financial stories.

1. Learn business basics. It is easy to learn the definition of stocks and mutual funds, how a stock exchange works, and the difference between a publicly held company and a privately held company. Take an introductory business class, read a few books, or look for fellowships that provide in-depth training such as:
• Columbia University's one-year Knight-Bagehot Fellowship for Business and Economics Journalism;
• Batten Media Fellowship at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, a two-year program for journalists that leads to an MBA;
  
  
2. Review basic math. Many journalists have a fear of math, but the only math you really need to know is addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. A general understanding of statistics, surveys and polls also helps. Here are two good sources:
• Stats Every Writer Should Know;
• Math Tools for Journalists.
  
  
3. Read, read, read. One of the best ways to learn how business stories are reported and written is to read the business sections of newspapers and magazines, and to read business publications such as The Economist, Fortune or The Wall Street Journal.
   
   
4. Do some research. If you are covering a particular type of business story for the first time (or even for the hundredth time), do your research. Read everything you can about the person, company, industry or trend that you plan to write about.
   
   
5. Define your angle. Think about your viewers, readers and listeners, and focus on an angle of the story that may have a direct impact on them. Business stories do not have to be dry and boring, especially if you focus on people.
   
   
6. Put the story in perspective. Even if your story has a local focus, try to describe how it might have an impact on state, regional, national or even international trends.
   
   
7. Develop a range of sources. Talk to as many people as you can -- including academics, grassroots activists, watchdog groups and others -- to make sure you are not relying on what "official government" sources say.
   
   In addition to business stories that rely on "numbers," business stories can also be written as features. See tips 8, 9 and 10.
   
   
8. Workplace stories. These include stories that cover labor union activity, corporate culture and workplace discrimination, including leave of absence policies, layoffs and job searches. For example, what will be the impact on the local economy from layoffs at the major business in your community? If the major business in your community lays off workers, how would this affect the local economy?
   
   
9. Trend stories. These stories result from simply being observant. For example, Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles make up the majority of workers at fast food restaurants. What does this mean for the restaurants and for the employees?
   
   
10. Consumer stories. These stories focus on the quality, safety and price of goods and services. They also focus on fraud or irregular business practices. For example, if a bank is mismanaging deposits, how will this affect people who have accounts?

Developed by Laura Castañeda, assistant professor, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication (Los Angeles). Reprinted with permission.