Weigh News Value in Technology Coverage

A search for recent news on technology companies will often come up far from empty.

Tech powerhouses Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves frequently rank as top business stories. And with Google's increasingly dominant market share, search engines are helping drive this exposure.

In July, Microsoft announced plans to aggressively pursue its search component in a quest to overtake dominant players Google and Yahoo. Ask Jeeves announced last month that it would start its own advertising network powered by its search engine. And Yahoo recently announced it was extending its advertising reach.

However, when covering technology companies, business reporters should be careful to distance themselves from the active press offices of Silicon Valley.

"Use your intuition on what's important," suggests Verne Kopytoff, a business reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rather than rewriting press releases for search companies, business reporters should look for the real story beneath the public relations hype.

Kopytoff says it helps to keep the search engine stories in perspective. "The business is pretty cutthroat and not necessarily so soft and fuzzy," he says.

The constant stream of information from press offices may tempt reporters to over-cover these companies. While search engines offer abundant headlines, these companies are often much smaller than other major business newsmakers.

A company's size can play an important factor in the amount of coverage it receives. For instance, it's hard to ignore Microsoft's announcement that it is setting its sights on enhancing its search function. Even though tackling Google may seem impossible, reporters must take Microsoft's search engine goals seriously because of its limitless wallet and winning track record, Kopytoff says.

"You just can't pay (small companies) the same attention, and I don't think you'd want to," he says.

But you need not be a technology expert to write on the search engine industry. It should suffice if you have some computer skills and basic knowledge about these companies and their business.

To provide expertise, business reporters can turn to a plethora of technology analysts who can offer perspective and context about a company's actions. Kopytoff says that he recommends turning to consumers as well.

By putting the nonstop updates and changes in perspective, reporters can write meaningful and interesting stories that do more than simply promote the company.

Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism