In the wake of Wal-mart’s alleged violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in Mexico, Main Justice has pulled together some experts and is offering a free webinar to explain the FCPA. Main Justice is a site run by Mary Jacoby, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Salon and the St. Petersburg [...]
You may have seen some of the “Too broke to go bankrupt” stories that ran last week, based on this report by the National Bureau of Economic Research. (The report is available free of charge to journalists, upon request.) The gist is that, according to the report, as many as one million American households may be [...]
By Amy Wilson LEXINGTON, Ky. – What, exactly, do we cover that isn’t business ? Linda Austin, executive director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University, was explaining to a classroom full of journalists how business coverage has tremendous community impact and builds audience. Then she turned it [...]
By Amy Wilson LEXINGTON, Ky. — The principles of covering business can also be applied to government, said John Cheves, investigative reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. At a workshop presented by the Reynolds Center, he shared some of the proven tips for uncovering good stores in local government budgets, taxes and contracts: Budgets: Follow the money. [...]
By Amy Wilson LEXINGTON, Ky. — Carlie Kollath, business reporter for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, writes a terrifically successful business blog in Tupelo, Miss. Biz Buzz, among other smart things, makes quick note of any sign of impending business activity and follows it in photographs. How successful? A Buffalo Wild Wings was coming to [...]
I’ve been putting some thought into ideas for localizing the upcoming Facebook IPO, and one idea I like pretty much can span all business beats: Find the up-and-coming business talent and future young billionaires in your region.
Home prices may be moribund and “available” signs abound on commercial buildings, but despite those signs of stagnation in the real-estate market, there lately seems to be an increasing buzz about REITs, the investment trusts that specialize in, well, real estate. And while they’re not generally a go-to item in average consumers’ retirement portfolios, taking a look at [...]
One intriguing financial story that may not have made your radar screen, though it’s ripe for localizing, is the drop in Herbalife’s stock price after an investor asked some pointed questions during a conference call. Here’s a Dow Jones piece on the matter; basically investor David Einhorn grilled Herbalife’s CEO about its distributor network, sales [...]
I love travel-related business stories — reading them and writing them. I just wish I would have started searching for local business stories in national transportation statistics earlier. The latest data on domestic airfares from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics offers a great opportunity for business reporters to find local consumer stories. Nationally, airfares rose 10 [...]
