In business journalism, you can safely bet that most—almost all, even—interview subjects have an agenda. Company executives want to project an image that will satisfy shareholders, customers, and the executive’s
A long time ago, I was in a software distribution business with a large audience of software developers and engineers. Much of my time was spent plenty talking to vendors.
I’m a big fan of the bells and whistles of modern storytelling, such as 360 journalism and data visualization. I’m equally enthusiastic about delving into audience analytics. But cutting-edge reporting
You’ve probably noticed that PR departments and agencies often try to make their pitches seem like authentic news. To that end, many will toss in statistics and other numbers. In
Many journalists use services like Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and Profnet to track down experts or real-people sources. But these large, general-interest services have their shortcomings, as Erik Sherman pointed out
We all know the feeling: Deadlines are approaching and you need sources. Whether you’re looking for company employees to interview, want to talk to a business’s customers or are hunting
Finding sources can be a pain for any reporter. For business journalists, it’s a particular challenge. You need to locate companies that have specific problems and experiences—construction firms coping with a labor shortage, for
Last year, I joined two long-time business journalist colleagues of mine—Randy B. Hecht and Robert McGarvey—on a webcast hosted by the American Society of Business Publication Editors. We discussed how
When a city bids to host the Olympics, it’s big sports news. It’s also a massive business story. Billions are invested, which means companies will vie for it and taxpayers often
Questions about material delivered by anonymous sources have fueled recent political stories. But off-the-record promises are thorny for business journalists as well. People might reasonably ask to go off the
Years ago a PR person pitched his “Fortune 500” client to me. Having never heard of the company although it was in a field I followed, I went to Fortune.com
Experiencing a degree of paranoia is nothing new for investigative reporters who need to protect their sources. And in this age of hackers and data leaks, it’s more important than ever
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