The downturn reaches a Mongolian goat farm

Today, The New York Times ran an article called "Soft Market for Cashmere Takes Toll in China" that shows the yo-yo effect of the recession from America to China and back again.
The story speaks with goat farmers, yarn factory workers, and sales managers to trace what the drop in America's cashmere demand has meant for people in Mongolia and China.
Accompanying the article is an illuminating piece of multimedia. While a modest slideshow, it tells a strong visual story of the recession's impact on cashmere from a small Mongolian goat farm all the way to Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.
Stories that veer away from the obviously suffering industries (autos, banking, etc.) are more necessary than ever at a time when media organizations can get tunnel vision for the industries frying in the spotlight.
Covering the less blatantly struggling industries not only provides greater coverage diversity but adds detail to the overall picture of the economic recession to show that our problems are more widespread (both in the United States and abroad) than many perceive.
You can view the story here and the slideshow here.

What industries have you covered in the context of the recession? What's a strong piece of business multimedia you've seen? Comment and tell us about it or send it to The Pulse at businessjournalism@businessjournalism.org!

Photo credit: Timothy O'Rourke for The New York Times.

Photos for the win

If one thing's for certain, business stories tend to be text-heavy and photo-light. When photos do accompany business articles, they're often of executives sitting stiffly at their desks, products sitting limply on a table, or just an outside shot of a business.
That's why I find the slideshow accompanying The Wall Street Journal's "Wal-Mart Exports Big-Box Concept to India" refreshing.
Eric Bellmen doesn't just take a picture of Mike Duke or the store being constructed. He goes a step farther, taking pictures of the people running India's small retailers soon to be impacted by Wal-Mart in a big way.
Bellmen's slideshow takes Wal-Mart's abstract business decision and makes it concrete, clearly showing the human impact of the business news. Photography is the ideal medium for reporters to incorporate more of the humanity within business news into their stories.
Learning to think outside traditional business photojournalism to create greater context and human interest within business stories is essential for all 21st century journalists to master.
View the slide show here.

Done some great business journalism photography? Comment and tell us about it.