Midsummer news blahs? Not for business journalists
Don't expect a slow summer, says Jon Talton. Plenty of stories for reporters who get moving.
Summer time, and the news cycle is boring. Or so I’ve heard for years from business editors and writers. Don’t fall into that trap.
Even though annual meeting season is past, major corporate announcements slow to a trickle and some of your best sources are off to long vacations in posh locales, this is a great time of year for business journalism.
One prime example comes from my colleague at the Seattle Times, Rami Grunbaum. Using the mid-year point as a hook, he examined a critical issue of corporate governance: The real value of shareholder votes. In fact, they’re not all equal.
On critical issues involving the environment and social issues, some companies “count” their shareholder ballots like something out of old Cook County or Texas. A prime example is Massey Energy, the coal company at the center of a lethal explosion earlier this year, which used its own peculiar math to defeat a proposal that would have set company goals to cut greenhouse gases.
This kind of “micro enterprise,” which is generated by good reporter curiosity and skepticism, but doesn’t require weeks or months to produce is ideal for a slower time of year.
The unique economy, with a slow-to-faltering recovery, so many still hurting and unusual business conditions also provides a target-rich environment for journalists. The Los Angeles Times started with this line of inquiry: Small businesses often lead a recovery. But it’s not happening now. A fascinating report looks at the reasons why. And this kind of work needn’t be done from 30,000 feet — national data and trends can be brought down to your states and cities.
I’m not expecting a slow summer. The economy is in danger of a double-dip recession, and even without that the next several months may see more Greek-like “black swans” that shock a still-fragile system.
At the local level, pay particular attention to unemployment, especially such issues as long-term joblessness and the way young people, minorities and others are being affected. Ongoing state fiscal crises and budget cuts make every monthly revenue report a springboard to revisit this issue and its consequences for recovery.
Census jobs and federal stimulus will start to wane; how will that hit your area? Community banks are still hurting and need to be followed carefully. And the commercial real estate crisis remains very real in most markets, with high vacancy rates and defaults that feed back into small-bank weakness.
Even if things appear slow, this is the season to get stories done that might languish in busy times. Follow up on those major corporate promises, lawsuits, layoffs, etc. announced earlier in the year. Catch up with key newsmakers; how they’re navigating these choppy times could make news.
Check in on your metro area and state’s major employers, “gazelle” companies and fascinating individuals — the touchstones — and grab the new news. Go back to the idea file and attack that great story that “had to wait” when news was breaking. This is the time of year when we can do some of our best work. Money never sleeps. Business journalists shouldn’t, either.
