Archive for March, 2011

Enter the 2011 Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism

Named for the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning investigative business journalist team of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, these awards, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, celebrate the best in print and online investigative business journalism. For the 2011 awards, entries must have appeared between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. Each media outlet may submit no more than two entries. Submission deadline is Aug. 1, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

Will market gyrations curb crucial consumer spending?

After lulling us with a more or less upward trajectory so far this year, stock markets are reacting to global turmoil with a new series of gyrations. Forget the roller-coaster analogy – markets are in Tilt-A-Whirl mode, whirling up, down and sideways at whiplash speed, with extra little spins and swirls by various sectors within [...]

Mining the Census for Local Business Stories: Self-guided training

The free workshop, “Mining the Census for Local Business Stories,” was originally held Jan. 31 in Philadelphia. Hosted by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the multi-session training offers tips on tracking and analyzing key Census data from local communities. Explore ways to best decipher American Community Survey, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) and County Business Patterns data, while [...]

Economic development funds: fertile ground for great storytelling

Dallas Morning News reporters James Drew and Steve McGonigle have written about improprieties in who’s gotten money from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Now, they’re focusing on the person who headed it. The portrait of former Director Alan Kirchhoff “that emerges from public records and interviews is of someone with a string of minor white-collar jobs and business failures whose resume contained omissions, distortions and the claim of two college degrees when, in fact, he earned only one,” they write.

Reporter uses SEC filings, employment contracts to track merger cash

Alison Grant of the Cleveland Plain Dealer used the pending acquisition of AirTran by Southwest Airlines as a jumping point to look at the millions of dollars airline executives receive in mergers. Her article offered perspectives from people who say the million-dollar severance packages and bonuses are warranted, and commentary from those who disagree. Today’s [...]

From nukes to plastics — more economic effects of the Japanese quake, tsunami

As the extent of the human devastation in Japan continues to become more clear, so does the toll of the earthquake and tsunami on the country’s infrastructure. The astounding footage of rubble, swept-away cars, nuclear plant explosions and other havoc is difficult to digest. If you are looking for ways to illustrate local business ties to Japan, I’ve listed some ideas in this previous blog post; here are a few more in random order.

How much will an NFL lockout really cost?

Mediated talks between the National Football League and the players collapsed Friday, with management locking out the players, whose contract expired March 4. “The impasse could be tremendously disruptive, leaving hundreds of free agents in limbo, draft picks unsigned, team personnel on furloughs or worse, and coaches taking pay cuts,” The Associated Press reports. “Oh [...]

The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal chats about the history and future of green technology

Alexis Madrigal is a senior editor at The Atlantic and the former head of Wired Science. Based in D.C., he recently finished the book “Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology.” The visitng scholar at the University of California Berkeley also garnered national attention for Longshot Magazine — a 48-hour publication project — [...]

Just what is a ‘content generator’? Well, we’ve found a job for one

One job caught our attention this week. The Phoenix Business Journal is looking for a ‘Content Generator’. We talked with Ilana Lowery, editor at the business journal to find out what is that job? Here’s her response: “As newsroom structures flatten, change and evolve, it is more important than ever to have the right people [...]