Two Minute Tips

Erik Sherman

Erik is an independent journalist and author who primarily covers business, economics, finance, technology, politics, and legal/regulatory, while elegantly expressing the complex and often incorporating data analysis.

My Latest Articles

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Narrative techniques can mess up your business reporting

Great narrative is prized in journalism. Long stories with protagonists, antagonists, narrative arcs, color, drama, conflict, intrigue … sorry, got carried away. That’s the potential problem facing business journalists and

Know the timelines in your reporting

People you interview may say something that is blatantly false or true, and you might be able to verify, one way or the other. But often there are relative truths

Becoming a better business journalist means doing the right research, asking the right questions and having the right contacts. ("Write" image by StartupStockPhotos via Pixabay)

Keep updating your working process

In any undertaking, once you’ve done it long enough, you’ll have developed working habits. That is important, because if must consciously think through every action and decision to the smallest

Avoiding hypocrisy in business journalism

If you are a business journalist, then you also have the role of critic. Not that you’re being paid to offer your personal opinions about this company, that stock, or

Look at business success the right ways

You have a business selling used bottle caps at 5 cents a piece to collectors (because there’s a customer born every minute). Last year the volume was 10 and you

Checking sources for ‘fake stories’

“Fake news” has become a thorn in the side of reporting. Yes, there are always stories that have failings in bias, bad research, or other problems. But the idea of

Google’s new suite of tools for journalists

I’m wary of large companies, especially tech ones that seem to be giving things away. Particularly for journalists. There’s the potential for leaking intentions, plans, and information to players that

Checking the validity of a website

I took a free online course at the Knight Center about how to research people and websites. I learned some new tips that have gone into my usual techniques and

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