Terri Thompson became director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in June 1993. In her twenty years as a business
journalist, she has worked for Business Week, U. S. News & World Report, Institutional Investor, and Lear´s,
among others. She is a former president of the New York Financial Writers' Association and the author of Biz Kids'
Guide to Success: Money-Making Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs.
Review
"Authoritative and helpful . . . This book should be the standard for most business and financial journalists,
as well as others in business, public relations, and related fields. . . . It belongs on the desk of every young
or aspiring business journalist."
--Myron Kandel, Financial Editor, CNN
"This book contains everything you need to know to be a successful reporter -or informed reader -of business
and economic news. It is both comprehensive and an easy read, well grounded in human reality."
--Paul Steiger, Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal
"A comprehensive and lively guide to the fine art of business journalism, written by some of the best practitioners
of the craft."
--Stephen Shepard, Editor-in-Chief, BusinessWeek
"It is a veritable encyclopaedia, offering not only crisp summaries of major fields of economics, finance,
and business, but also advice on how journalists can find their way around those fields."
--Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia University Press Web Site, April, 2002
Summary
Drawing upon the experience of some forty of the nation´s finest journalists, all alumni of the Knight-Bagehot
Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, this book is a complete guide to writing
about business and economics.
Writing About Business begins by demystifying basic concepts of macroeconomics, microeconomics, financial markets,
and international economics and trade. Next, it provides practical reporting tips, from how to use statistics to
understanding what the government has in its files, from conducting live interviews to using electronic data to
generate stories about companies. In closing, the book suggests investigative techniques and strategies for covering
specific beats, including personal finance, health care, the environment, labor and workplace issues, media and
entertainment businesses, technology, small businesses, and not-for-profit institutions.
To many journalists and public relations professionals, business and financial writing can appear fraught with
complexity. With its wealth of practical information, Writing About Business helps these writers with the often
daunting task of reporting on business and industry.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
The Guide
Writing About Business and the Economy
Part I. Basic Concepts Macroeconomics 1. How Economic Systems Work
2. The Political Economy of Government and Business
3. Government Regulation and the Regulators
4. Economic Indicators
5. Demystifying the Federal Reserve Microeconomics 6. Economics of the Firm
7. Business Management: Organization of the Firm
8. Sales and Marketing
9. Accounting Principles and Practices
10. How to Read Financial Statements
11. Covering Business in Your Town Capital Markets, Banking, and Finance 12. Where Wall Street Meets Main Street
13. The Stock Market
14. The Bond Market
15. Derivatives and Other Exotic Securities
16. Hedge Funds International 17. Trade and Global Economics
18. International Business
19. Global Financial Markets
20. Covering the World Bank
Part II. Practical Reporting and Writing Tips 21. How to Use Numbers and Statistics
22. What You Can Get from Public and Private Companies
23. What the Government Has in Its Files
24. The Freedom of Information Act
25. Internet Resources for Business Reporters
26. How to Use Electronic Data to Generate Company Stories
27. Live Sources-How Do You Get Them to Talk?
28. Conducting Live Television Interviews
29. Business Journalism on TV
30. Online Journalism
31. Ethics in Business Journalism
Part III. Getting the Story: Investigative Techniques and Strategies for Covering Specific Beats 32. Personal Finance
33. The Insurance Industry
34. Health Care
35. Technology and Telecommunications
36. Media and Entertainment
37. Real Estate and Urban Development
38. The Retail Industry
39. The Environment
40. Labor and Workplace Issues
41. Consumer Reporting
42. Taxes
43. Not-for-Profit Institutions
44. Founding the Fellowship
