Archive for August, 2011

New ways on Main Street to cover stocks’ slide on Wall Street

These dramatic stock market selloffs are sort of like watching a bad auto accident while riding on a passing bus: You feel that you should dial 911, or something, but figure 20 other people already have done the same thing.

As business writers, we want to address stock market plunges so our readers know we’re on the ball, but the choices often seem limited to repeating the same macroeconomic factors that wire and markets reporters have enumerated, or trotting out local financial advisers to issue the standard “hold the course, don’t panic, you’re in this for the long term, and this is a great opportunity to dollar-cost-average” advice that’s generally offered to consumers.

Happy anniversary: Michelle Leder launched footnoted* 8 years ago

“When I started footnoted* eight years ago, the idea was simple: to start a daily conversation that built upon some of the concepts that I covered in my book, Financial Fineprint.” It was a desire to keep that book alive and a mindset forged as a daily newspaper journalist that motivated Leder to start blogging [...]

How big is the business? What’s the company spending on politicians?

Red-light cameras have spread across the country, and Sally Kestin and Ariel Barkhurst, writing in the Sun-Sentinel, found one reason why.

Has the economy gone to the dogs, or the dogs to the economy?

Gridlocked housing, moribund employment, a lost decade in the stocks market: The economy seems to have gone to the dogs.

If only. Unlike sagging consumer demand in other areas, spending on domestic pets is forecast to top $50 billion this year.

Three tips on getting public records using the Freedom of Information Act

Jeff Horwitz and Kate Berry did a revealing story in American Banker about the close ties between then-FHA Commissioner David Stevens and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), “a group whose members originated roughly $300 billion in FHA-guaranteed loans last year,” they write. It’s also the lobbying group that Stevens became the head of after leaving the FHA earlier this year.

Rural development push is fertile fodder for business stories

Rural development seems to be a buzzword these days as state and federal officials grope for ways to reinvigorate moribund jobs markets and local economies. In my state, Michigan, for example, the governor has renamed the agriculture department the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, along with other initiatives to bolster that sector of the [...]

Sales Strategies for Freelance Business Journalists: Self-guided training

The four-day Webinar, “Sales Strategies for Freelance Business Journalists,” took place Aug. 16-19, 2011. | At the bottom of this page, you’ll find links to complete the self-guided training. Similar Webinars, “How to Be an Entrepreneur as as Journalist” and “How to Be an Entrepreneur as a Business Journalist,” were held in 2010. AGENDA Aug. [...]

Paula Squires, managing editor, Virginia Business

Paula Squires | Managing Editor | Virginia Business Maya Payne Smart, freelance business journalist and founder of WritingCoach.com talks with Paula Squires, managing editor of Virginia Business, Virginia’s only statewide business news magazine. PODCAST: Smart asks Squires more about Virginia Business. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Maya Smart: Can you tell us a [...]

Mitch Lipka, editorial director, Contently.com

Mitch Lipka | Editorial Director | Contently.com Maya Payne Smart, freelance business journalist and founder of WritingCoach.com talks with Mitch Lipka, editorial director of Contently.com, an open marketplace for writers and publishers which its founders call “a platform where real journalists can manage their freelance careers.” PODCAST: Smart asks Lipka about Contently.com. [Audio clip: view [...]