On March 15, NASA (aka @NASA) offered 150 of its 1,019,243 followers on Twitter to join them in Florida to watch the Endeavour shuttle launch. The Tweet read: ”You could see a space shuttle launch in person at a #NASATweetup.” Within 24 hours, more than 4,100 of NASA’s Twitter fans applied for that special back-stage pass to [...]
Great title. It’s not quite how journalism sausage is made, but freelancer Susannah Breslin has written a series of tips for journalists that are funny, smart and inspiring. Breslin, who writes Forbes blog Pink Slipped, put together a five-part series last month on How Your Journalism Sausage Gets Made. She wrote it in response to [...]
A jet with 130 passengers on board is reported to have had an engine go out on approach for landing. The captain is in communication with air traffic control, seeking permission to land on a different runway. TV goes live. Against images of the plane gliding in for a landing, the anchors speak in hushed [...]
This week’s story about Deals on Facebook hit most news outlets. Reading them reminded me of my Bloomberg days when getting a story picked up nationally was the goal. With competition extending beyond the wires these days, I asked Benny Evangelista at the San Francisco Chronicle how competition played into his story. “Covering a big [...]
If you’ve done your share of gasoline price stories as the per-pump cost has marched upward, you may be wondering how to add a fresh twist to this perennial assignment. I don’t have any miracle suggestions for reporters on gas-price patrol but have taken note of a few interesting and off-the-beaten-path angles. And with prices [...]
In addition to flooding, tornadoes and proxy season, spring is the proverbial time of cleaning and decluttering – making it an ideal time for stories and features on the business of trash and household junk. It’s not as far-fetched a notion as you might think. For one thing, the solid waste industry is a $75 [...]
Proxy season, always fun for business writers, is an even richer source of stories this year due to changes in executive compensation reporting stemming from the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul of 2010. For the uninitiated: a publicly traded company’s annual proxy statement is a notice to investors sent in advance of the company’s annual meeting [...]
By Mark Tatge Tutorials and guides Understanding Wall Street, by Jeffrey B. Little and Lucien Rhodes Beat Basics: MORE COVERING BUSINESS Learn the language, find a mentor The best business stories are local Resources and reading Barron’s Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms, by John Downes and Jordan Elliot Goodman The Wall Street Journal Complete [...]
By Mark Tatge Welcome to the business beat. If you are new to business reporting – relax. We have all been there. An introduction to the business beat from Reynolds Center on Vimeo. My past experience is fairly typical of most reporters: I landed my first big-time job at the Denver Post. There was only [...]
