How to nail data journalism with compelling storytelling
Posted: October 17, 2026 Filed under: Journalism Training, Rick's Rules | Tags: audience, Data Journalism, data visualization, SEO, storytelling, writing Leave a comment
By RICK DUNHAM
In today’s digital landscape, data journalism stands as a powerful tool in uncovering truths, engaging audiences, and informing the public. However, presenting data merely as numbers and charts can often lead to dry content that fails to resonate. Effective storytelling in data journalism transforms raw data into compelling narratives that capture attention and inspire action.
Here are some of the essential elements that make storytelling an effective tool in the realm of data journalism.
Understanding the data
The first step in crafting a story from data is to deeply understand the information at hand. This means not just knowing the figures but also grasping their implications and the larger context. Analyzing the data helps in identifying patterns, trends, and anomalies.
When you understand your data, you’re better equipped to explain what it reveals. Think of the journey your readers will take: you want to guide them through the maze of numbers and lead them to meaningful insights.
The power of visuals
Incorporating visuals such as charts, graphs, and infographics can significantly enhance your storytelling. A visual representation can often convey complex data more effectively than paragraphs of text. By integrating visuals, you allow your readers to see the story in a different light, engaging them on both a visual and intellectual level.
Make sure your visuals are clear, relevant, and accurately represent the data. Avoid clutter by focusing on one main idea per visual. A well-designed infographic can distill comprehensive information into digestible bites, allowing the reader to grasp key points quickly.
Finding the human element
One of the most effective storytelling techniques in data journalism is connecting numerical data to real-world human experiences. Data can often seem impersonal, but tying statistics back to individuals or communities makes the data relatable and emotionally engaging.
Consider interviews or testimonials that illustrate the human impact behind the numbers. For instance, a data-driven story about unemployment rates can be strengthened by including personal narratives of individuals who have faced those challenges. Fictionalizing the data with real-life contexts creates a bridge between the cold hard facts and the reader’s heart.
Identifying and crafting a narrative arc
Every good story has a beginning, middle, and end. In data journalism, it’s important to structure your narrative effectively. Start with a compelling hook that draws in your audience and piques their curiosity. This could be an intriguing statistic or a provocative question.
Once you’ve captured their attention, delve into the data, presenting it in a logical flow. Use subheadings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs to make the information easily digestible. Finally, conclude with a powerful ending that reinforces your main message and leaves a lasting impression.
The role of context
Providing context is critical in helping readers understand the significance of the data you’re presenting. Data doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it is affected by numerous factors that shape its meaning.
For example, when reporting on climate change statistics, contextualizing the data with historical trends, related policies, and current events can enrich the story. Ensure you clarify why the data matters and how it relates to broader societal issues.
Engaging your audience
To maintain reader engagement, consider incorporating interactive elements wherever possible. Think about ways to invite the audience to participate, be it through comments, social shares, or surveys about their reactions to your data.
Asking questions can encourage readers to engage with the material more actively. For example, “What do you think about this trend?” or “Have you experienced something similar?” can motivate audience interaction and foster community discussion around your story.
SEO considerations
In the digital era where content is constantly competing for attention, it’s essential to make your posts search-engine optimized (SEO). Use relevant keywords naturally within your content to enhance visibility.
This includes incorporating terms related to data journalism within headings, subheadings, and body text, but remember to maintain the flow of the narrative. The goal is to inform and engage your readers while also making it easier for them to discover your work online.
Data journalism storytelling
Effective storytelling in data journalism is about connecting with your audience on a deeper level, making complex data understandable, and infusing human experiences into statistics. By mastering narrative techniques, embracing visuals, and providing context, you can transform ordinary data reporting into compelling stories that resonate with your readers.
As you continue your journey in data journalism, remember: the magic is not just in the data itself, but in how you tell the story. Strive for clarity, empathy, and engagement, and watch as your data-driven narratives captivate and inform your audiences.
The 10 essentials of news writing
Posted: October 15, 2026 Filed under: Rick's Rules, Journalism Training | Tags: balance, fairness, journalism tips, Journalism Training, news reporting, storytelling, writing Leave a comment
By RICK DUNHAM
No matter how good a writer you are, you cannot be a good journalist without a solid grounding in journalism basics. After 35 years in journalism and a decade in journalism education, I have boiled down the basics to 10 essential traits. Here they are:
1. Truth
Journalism is nothing without a solid bedrock of truth. Your writing must be accurate. But accuracy is not enough: Your stories must be true. If you accurately report an untrue or misleading statement, you are doing a disservice to your audience.
2. Clarity
Make sure your audience understands clearly what you are saying. The words you use should convey the meaning you intend. Be specific. Use active voice. Put numbers into context – particularly large numbers. Avoid long, disjointed sentences shackled with confusing dependent clauses.
3. Completeness
Make sure you have included all of the most important and relevant details. Make sure you placed the main facts of the story into context. Don’t just report on “what’s new” – mention “what’s next” or “why.” Don’t include irrelevant and unimportant details. But make sure you have not misled you audience through omission.
4. Compelling storytelling
You are competing for your audience’s attention in a cluttered information world. Readers are easily distracted, especially when they are consuming your story on a mobile device. To keep their attention, your story must be better than good. There is no substitute for compelling storytelling. Hook the reader from the first sentence. Demonstrate quickly why the story is interesting and important. Make sure that fresh information and strong details are at the top of the story. All of your quotations should add value. The story should move briskly. Every sentence should enrich the reader’s experience.
5. Tight writing
As Strunk and White wrote more than a century ago, “Omit needless words.” Be concise. Keep your sentences short. Keep your first paragraph short (usually under 35 words). Avoid superfluous adverbs and adjectives. When in doubt, leave it out. But remember this: Tight writing does not mean leaving out important details or analytical points. It means trimming the merely ordinary to leave more room for the extraordinary.
6. Precision
Use the right word to convey the right meaning. Avoid vague verbs such as “to have,” “to be,” “to do” or “to get” when you can be more specific. Avoid over-general words such as “some” or “many” or “a lot.” If you have trouble with precise word choice, you need to expand your English vocabulary.
7. Timeliness
You always want a time peg for your news story. On breaking news, that’s easy: News is happening now and I am writing about it. But news features and enterprise projects should be timely now. You might “peg” your story to an anniversary date, an upcoming event or the release of a book or movie. Always be able to answer this question: “Why is this story of interest to my audience right now?”
8. Fairness, balance and responsibility
Ethics are a core value of journalism. Your stories, even opinion pieces, should be fair. You should provide context for breaking news. Multiple points of view should be considered, although you have no obligation to give equal space to everyone. The “target” of a critical story should be given an opportunity to respond before publication. Fairness sometimes includes truth-telling and fact-checking. It is your responsibility to report the truth, not to repeat the assertions of powerful people.
9. Transparency and honesty
You must be straight with your audience if you expect them to trust you. Don’t steal material from others. Properly attribute all material (facts and quotations) that you found on other platforms. Avoid conflicts of interest. Never take money or gifts in exchange for writing a story (or not writing a story).
10. Real reporting
Don’t expect to write a complete report if you have not done some first-hand reporting. A pandemic is not an excuse: You owe it to your readers to gather facts yourself. Don’t just repeat what you saw in a report or a press release. Don’t “curate” the best work of other journalists. In the old days, engaged in what old-timers called “shoe-leather reporting.” Today, you might be wearing slippers in your home office. But get to work and do some real reporting!
More information on Rick Dunham’s textbook, “Multimedia Reporting”
11 tips for crafting smart, engaging stories on corporate financial performance
Posted: October 14, 2026 Filed under: Dunham's Discourses, Journalism Training | Tags: news reporting, business journalism, writing, business, technology, marketing, digital-marketing, finance Leave a comment
By RICK DUNHAM
Corporate news coverage long was a black hole of financial journalism. It was dominated by boring stories weighed down by too many unexplained numbers and useless statements from company officials.
To boil it down to the essence of journalism story structure, reporters were providing too much of the “what” and not enough “why.” Not enough “what next.” Not enough behind-the-scenes company narrative and behind-closed-doors corporate intrigue.
In today’s world of instant information, our audiences are likely to be aware of the latest developments related to a company’s financial performance in real time. So our challenge is to craft a compelling story that not only informs stakeholders (from consumers to shareholders) but also engages a broader audience by providing clear insights into the financial standing and operational strategies of an organization. Mastering this skill can help journalists and journalism students enhance the quality of their reporting and broaden their professional toolkit.
Here are 11 essential tips that can help you create engaging business stories focusing on corporate financial performance. Each tip is accompanied by practical examples to inspire effective storytelling.
1. Understand the company’s economic world
Before writing a story about a company’s financial performance, it is critical to understand the broader financial landscape in which the company operates. This includes knowing industry standards, competitive positioning and market trends, as well as its history and reputation.
For example, if a tech company reports an increase in revenue, understanding the trends in technology adoption and innovation can provide context. A journalist could cite data from a recent industry report to illustrate how the company’s performance aligns with or diverges from its peers.
In some industries, revenue or sales may be a key point for analysis. In other, profits. In some cases, beating the expectations of financial analysts may be a key point for you to consider. It is vital that you understand this financial landscape before the release of the new data.
2. Use clear and simple language
Financial metrics can often be complex and filled with jargon that may confuse or alienate readers. It is vital to use clear and simple language to distill complex information into digestible narratives. Be particularly careful to avoid quotations from analysts or corporate officials that include jargon or acronyms. It is preferable to paraphrase and use plain English.
For instance, rather than stating that a company has a “marginal decline in EBITDA,” a journalist might say, “The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization decreased slightly last quarter.” This straightforward language helps ensure that the information is accessible to a wider audience.
Even generally known acronyms like “YOY” (year over year) are best left out of stories. You can substitute simpler English: “over the past year” or “over the past 12 months.”
3. Know what data is important
Before you can use simple and clear language to describe financial performance, you have to identify which performance indicators are important. That means mastering the revenue and profit statements filed by the companies. Different data is important to different companies at different times: net operating revenues, gross profit, net profit (or loss), operating income, net income, net income per share, interest expense, debt. Is it an increase or decline in any of these factors? Your job as a reporter is not only to be able to read a balance sheet but to understand what numbers to look for.
4. Highlight “Key Performance Indicators” (KPIs)
Focusing on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) forms the backbone of any financial story. These indicators provide concrete numbers that readers can understand and analyze.
Journalists should identify the most relevant KPIs for the business in question. For instance, if a retail company boasts an increase in same-store sales, these metrics can be highlighted to show tangible growth. Note: It’s your job to know which indicators are the key performance indicators on your beat.
By integrating KPIs into the narrative, the financial story gains credibility and analytical depth. Adding a quotation from a neutral observer and/or a company official responding to the performance data should underscore your analytical point.
5. Address challenges and risks
Good business news stories involve tension. What’s at stake? How can the company maintain its success? How can it turn things around? How can it navigate government regulation? Or a new round of tariffs? Or foreign competition? There always is tension.
A balanced narrative includes not just successes but also challenges and risks facing the company. Acknowledging these elements provides a more rounded view and demonstrates journalistic integrity.
For instance, if a company reports a strong financial performance amid a struggling market, it’s crucial to explore how economic headwinds could impact future growth. Discussing potential risks makes the story more credible.
6. Acknowledge the impact of external factors
Do not overlook the influence of external factors such as national or global economic conditions, regulatory changes, political pressures and global events. These elements often have a significant impact on a company’s financial results and future outlook.
For instance, when a company reports declining sales due to supply chain disruptions caused by a pandemic, tariffs or an invasion of a faraway nation, it illustrates how intertwined the business world is with external dynamics. Understanding these impacts adds vital context to a financial story. Experts can provide unbiased analysis for your audience.
7. Tell a narrative
Every financial report tells a story, but it’s your narrative that can make it compelling. Journalists should aim to weave the numbers into a storyline that captures the company’s journey in a way that is understandable and attracts your audience.
For example, instead of merely reporting that profits increased by 25%, a story could delve into what drove the growth, such as new product launches, market expansion or same-store sales improvement. You can include quotes from company executives to humanize the data, turning cold numbers into a relatable story.
Use your sources inside companies and corporate boards to take your audience inside the boardroom. Was there a showdown? How was a big decision made? How was the CEO’s fate decided? How did the product launch come about? What led to the PR disaster last month?
Your sources should not only include company officials but outside watchdogs, including corporate gadflies such as dissident shareholders or nonprofit groups opposed to certain corporate policies. You are a reporter, not a public relations representative for the company. And you are a writer seeking to connect with a public audience, not a government officials writing a bureaucratic economic treatise.
8. Use real-life examples
Integrating real-life examples or case studies can illustrate points and create a more engaging narrative. Journalists can describe a specific situation where certain financial strategies led to success or failure within the company.
For example, discussing how a unique marketing campaign significantly impacted a company’s quarterly profits can ground the narrative in reality. Such specifics lend authenticity to the financial story and resonate with readers.
9. Incorporate visuals
Incorporating visual aids such as charts, graphs and tables can significantly bolster a financial story. These visuals help convey data in a more engaging and easily interpretable manner.
For example, a line graph showing significant profit increases over several quarters can provide visual proof of a company’s financial trajectory. Changes over time are a key way to visualize corporate performance. If there has been a change in leadership, combine your graph with a timeline to demonstrate whether progress has (or has not) been made.
Additionally, infographics that compare the company to industry peers can offer added insight at a glance.
10. Use quotes from industry experts
Quotes from industry experts, analysts, or executives can lend authority to a financial report. These voices can contextualize the data and provide additional insight into the implications of financial performance.
A journalist could include a quote from a financial analyst discussing the implications of rising costs on a manufacturing firm’s bottom line. This expert commentary adds depth and reinforces key points made throughout the article. Without the expert’s voice, your conclusions are just your opinion. If your analysis is backed up by outside quotations, it becomes more authoritative.
11. Conclude financial stories with company’s outlook
A strong conclusion wraps up the narrative and provides insights into future expectations. Here, journalists can discuss the company’s strategic plans and projections based on recent performance.
For instance, after summarizing a company’s financial achievements, a journalist might outline how new product lines could shape the forecast. It’s also a good time for assessing the future of the company’s leadership team or the industry’s future. This forward-looking aspect keeps readers engaged and provides a broader perspective on the story.
Business journalism’s 5 pillars of purpose: My take on economic reporting’s core principles
Posted: September 28, 2026 Filed under: AI, Dunham's Discourses, Global Business Journalism, Journalism Training, Media, Rick's Rules | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, business journalism, ESG, Global Business Journalism, International Center for Journalists, Journalism Training, Linda Lew, Lise Olsen, Mark Hamrick, Media, News business, Sharon Moshavi, watchdogs, writing Leave a commentBy RICK DUNHAM
In a media world transformed by digital disruption, economic volatility and the never-ending news cycle, high-quality business journalism has never been more essential for citizens around the world — or more challenged by a convergence of economic and political forces. Amid social media misinformation, corporate spin, government pressure and declining trust in institutions, the mission of business news organizations has evolved to serve a public increasingly hungry for clarity, accountability and context.
While styles of business news coverage vary across platforms and countries, five core goals remain central to economic reporting in the modern era.
These five fundamental missions — informing the public, interpreting economic trends, holding power accountable, guiding decision-making and spotlighting broader economic shifts such as innovation and inequality — are the cornerstones of meaningful, responsible business journalism. Let’s take a look at each of them.
1. Informing the public: Gleaning clarity from complexity
At its heart, business journalism exists to inform. It demystifies complex economic developments, financial markets, and corporate affairs for a broad audience. From interest rate hikes to stock market volatility, from GDP reports to global supply chain disruptions, the goal is to translate jargon into accessible language without sacrificing nuance.
“Business journalism has always been important but never has it been more important than right now,” Mark Hamrick, founder of the Hamrick Brief, told Global Business Journalism students. “This obviously is a remarkable time in human history — the rate of change is remarkable. The ability to tell a story well is one of the most important skill sets we have.”
Good business coverage doesn’t just report the what — it explains the why and the how, helping readers understand how distant decisions by central banks, tech CEOs, or energy producers can affect household budgets or career prospects.
2. Interpreting trends: Context beyond the headlines
Modern business journalists are not merely stenographers of the day’s earnings calls or labor reports. They are interpreters — placing economic and corporate events in a broader context. Why does a stronger dollar matter? What does a jobs report signal about inflation? How does a tech company’s quarterly performance hint at shifting consumer habits?
“Every news story needs a paragraph on the significance or context of the news and business news is no different,” noted Jeffrey Timmermans, a longtime Wall Street Journal reporter now working at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism. “Each business story should explain why the news matters to the reader.”
Interpretation has become even more critical in an era where data is abundant but understanding is scarce. Long-form explainers, data journalism, podcasts, and interactive graphics have become key tools for business reporters helping audiences grasp long-term trends — from climate finance to the future of AI.
3. Holding power to account: Watchdogs in the boardrooms and beyond
Perhaps the most vital and difficult of business journalism’s missions is accountability reporting. This includes exposing fraud, investigating regulatory failures, scrutinizing executive behavior and tracing the flow of money and influence in both the public and private sectors.
Whether covering the fall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, probing the causes of the 2008 financial crisis or revealing how fossil fuel corporations shaped perceptions of climate change in much of the world, investigative business reporting plays a key role in serving the public interest.
“Customers, investors, pensioners, employees and taxpayers all have been harmed in recent years by a reckless disregard at the highest levels of companies,” Gretchen Morgenson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning financial journalist, told a Wharton School leadership conference. “If the people who have created these disasters and profited from them are allowed to slink off into the night, then I think we will be confirming the suspicion that the paths of the powerful are protected, and that the little guy is left to fend for himself.”
In the wake of growing public anger over wealth inequality and the power of transnational global corporations, the watchdog role of business journalism is ethically important — and it is increasingly expected by audiences, even in countries with some limits on press freedom.
4. Guiding decisions: Practical tools for spending, work and wealth
Another core mission of business journalism is helping individuals and institutions make informed choices — whether about investments, careers, consumption or business strategies.
This service-oriented aspect has grown in popularity and sophistication, with media brands like Bloomberg, CNBC, Morning Brew, and The Wall Street Journal offering targeted newsletters, personal finance columns, real-time market updates, and deep industry analysis.
In short, business news has become more personal. Increasingly, it’s not just about what Apple or Tesla did — but about what you should do next. That could be consumer decisions, investment choices or retirement options.
“People read our words, based on which they shape their own opinions and make decisions,” Colin Pope, editor of Austin Business Journal, told students in the Global Business Journalism program’s Business News Reporting and Editing course.
Not every economic journalist is up to the challenge of simplifying the numbers and explaining complex data. The 2025 Barnum Financial Group “Study of Americans in the Workplace“ found that 39% of respondents felt intimidated by financial complexities, contributing to “a population struggling to access and understand the financial resources they need” to make economic decisions.
The clearer business journalists can be in their data analysis and reporting, the more confident their audience can be in decision-making.
Morgenson, now a senior reporter for NBC News Investigations, says her aim as a reporter is to “simplify complex financial dealings so all readers can understand them. Although I am thrilled to have received an array of journalism awards over my career, the most rewarding aspect of my work is helping readers cut through financial fog and protect themselves and their families.”
5. Telling the broader economic story: Innovation and inequality
Today’s business journalism must also capture the complex forces shaping the 21st-century economy: rapid innovation, increasing inequality, and the battles over globalism and global economic dominance.
From covering the rise of artificial intelligence and green energy startups to exploring the gig economy, inconsistencies in labor rights from nation to nation, and the gender pay chasm in some countries, business journalists are storytellers of transformations and of stubborn traditions.
More often than not, those stories are not simply “bottom line” business stories but are societal narratives that often touch on local and national politics, social justice concerns, minority rights, women’s rights and environmental policy.
“Journalists are needed more than ever to bear witness to history,” Linda Lew, a reporter for Bloomberg News in Hong Kong, told Global Business Journalism program students.
This increased coverage of economic justice issues means that ESG (an acronym for Environmental, Social and Governance) investing issues, and diversity in corporate leadership, are no longer niche coverage areas. They are central to understanding the modern economy — and to building trust with younger, values-driven audiences. Coverage of the rise of far-right populism from the Americas to Europe requires skill in both economic and political analysis.
What’s more, in the midst of today’s rapid innovation, business reporters must be prepared to cover the industries of the future, from green technologies to artificial intelligence. Beat coverage can range from profiles to narratives, corporate profit deep dives to investigative pieces about venture capital fundraising attempts.
Reporters covering these emerging industries (and markets) must be able to explain — in simple language — what the technology is and what its impact will be on the lives of people around the world. They also will be called on to cover the business end of companies in a boom-and-bust world that sees spectacular successes, meteoric flameouts and a few criminal prosecutions. All of which are exciting — and challenging — for the reporters covering the story.
The future: Business journalism in the digital age
As the digital economy has expanded, so too has the media ecosystem covering it. Traditional print and television outlets now compete with newsletters, TikTok explainers, YouTube analysts, Substack authors, and especially influencers with strong opinions about crypto or real estate. To demonstrate the power of the influencer culture: More Americans got news about the 2024 presidential election on TikTok from influencers and celebrities than from traditional news organizations’ video feeds, according to Pew Research Center findings.
Yet even amid information overload and the cacophony of facts, opinions and rumors, professional business journalism remains distinct. It is evidence-based, ethically grounded, and committed to transparency.
“There may not be a single truth, but a fact is still a fact,” said Sharon Moshavi, president of the International Center for Journalists. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and there is no such thing as absolute and ultimate truth. But a phone is a phone. My AirPods are AirPods … And I think only then are we going to get to that world I like where facts reign.”
Truth is not journalism’s only challenge. Revenue models are shifting. Audiences for traditional media are rapidly shrinking. Misinformation spreads quickly. Reporters face pressure to produce more with fewer resources. And AI tools are transforming how news is gathered and delivered.
Still, the mission endures.
“I’m always looking for something that is hidden, something people don’t want other people to know,” said Lise Olsen, Houston-based investigative reporter focusing on crime, corruption, workers’ safety and human rights, during a lecture to Global Business Journalism students.
This report first appeared on the Global Business Journalism program website.
How to write an easy-to-understand business or economic news story
Posted: September 27, 2026 Filed under: Dunham's Discourses, Journalism Training, Global Business Journalism | Tags: business journalism, economics, personal finance, audience, analytical skills, writing 2 Comments
By RICK DUNHAM
Despite a plunge in newspaper jobs of more than half since 2000, business news is a growth industry that has created new opportunities for journalists in print, digital and newsletter formats.
And for some very good reasons. Business news is not the latest journalism fad; it never goes out of style. Economic news explains our world. Business and personal finance are central to our lives. Our world is more interconnected economically than ever before, as we saw in April with the global stock gyrations following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements. In tough times — as business leaders such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink are predicting for 2025 — economic news is more important to us than ever.
So even if you aren’t applying for a job at a business news outlet, you need to improve your skill set to effectively cover economic issues. Every journalist should be able to write about business or economic topics with comfort and ease.
Here are 11 tips to help you write easy-to-understand and impactful business reports:
(1) Know your audience
Are your readers well versed on business topics in general? Do you write for a general audience? Are you looking for specialty stories for your region, or regional stories about a national (or global) topic? Your approach to today’s big news story is likely to vary so you can engage your audience.
Example: If you’re covering trade wars, are you writing for a national, international or local audience? Does your audience skew toward highly educated businesspeople or investors who understand the economics of tariffs and are familiar with concepts such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Doha Round, Section 201 and export controls? Do your readers want to know how higher tariffs will affect local consumers, small businesses or hometown jobs? Do you serve a specialty audience interested in a sector of the economy such as agriculture, an industry like soybeans, or demographic groups ranging from investors to the elderly? The major facts don’t change, but your reporting angle and writing style do.
(2) Be an expert
If it’s your beat, you already are. If you’ve been assigned a story on an unfamiliar topic, do your homework. Research, research, research! Talk to experts in the field. Talk to academics, trade groups, labor leaders, public officials. Hear what “real people” really think.
You need to master the subject before you can communicate with clarity. Economic journalists must heed Albert Einstein’s famous words, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” If you can’t explain it simply, do more research.
(3) Hone your analytical skills
To add value to your coverage, you must go far beyond the “what” of what has happened. You have to be able to explain why the story is important. Offer historical context or present your story in the broader context of the national or global situation.
Here’s a good guide to smart analytical story structure. What happened + what comes next? What happened + why it happened. What happened + how it happened. What happened + its impact.
In addition to your personal expertise, you should take advantage of specialists in the field. Bloomberg News recommends interviewing neutral experts. Industry, corporate or labor representatives can add insight to business stories from their particular perspectives. (Just avoid spin and propaganda.) Public officials, NGOs, citizen watchdog groups, academics and think tanks all can offer quotations, data and other information that reinforce your analytical framework.
[Read more: 10 tips for covering legislative bodies]
(4) De-mystify business
Despite hundreds of acronyms and business terms bandied about by MBAs and investment counselors, economics is not an academic pursuit or a complicated science beyond the reach of mere mortals. It is real life. And the stories can be told using simple English.
Avoid acronyms. Define technical terms in succinct, simple-to-understand phrases. (Example: If the president invokes “Section 301 powers,” explain that it is a section of a 1974 trade law that empowers the U.S. to penalize unfair trade practices of foreign countries that harm American commerce.)
Don’t make business pieces more complicated than they have to be. Just tell the story like you are describing it to a friend. Or your mother.
(5) Think of both the small picture and the big picture
When you are conceptualizing your story, ask yourself some key questions: How does today’s news fit in the bigger picture of the topic? Who wins and who loses? What is the impact on your audience and on “real people”?
Here are a few ways you can zoom in and out when writing about the latest economic developments. Ask, what is the impact:
- For this industry and the entire economy
- For my city, state or province, the region and the country
- For the country and the world
- For this business and all businesses in its sector
- For this business and all businesses in my city, region or country
- For affected workers in my city and beyond
(6) Put people first
Business and economic stories are people stories, too. Don’t get lost in the numbers. Economic coverage tells the tales of people: lost jobs and new jobs, jobs moving from one place to another, devastated communities and communities celebrating economic expansion, high-paying jobs and declining standards of living, inflation eating away at living standards, small businesses squeezed by rising costs, tariffs and government regulation.
As Bill Dorman, news director of Hawai’i Public Radio, told Global Business Journalism students at Tsinghua University: “Put faces on the numbers and tell the stories behind the statistics.”
Think of the people who make the decisions. Think of the people who are affected by corporate decisions: employees, shareholders, consumers, citizens in the community. People-oriented business journalism is more compelling and easier for news consumers to digest.
(7) Rely on insightful quotations
Quotations are more important in business stories than in most news reports. Why? Readers want to know what experts think of major economic developments — particularly independent experts without a financial interest in the issue at hand. They also care about the reactions of business executives and public officials. Quotations from consumers or workers can add depth and a human touch to a story driven by economic data.
Concise and thoughtful quotations (not public relations mumbo jumbo) add authority and depth to your story. They underscore the theme of your story. They help convince the reader that you are not just offering your opinion.
(8) Consider the biases of sources
In economic reporting, many of the sources you deal with — both human and statistical — have biases. Your job is to present factual information and provide context so your audience can assess the information and reach its own conclusions.
When dealing with sources, always be aware of people’s agendas, from ideology to politics to profits. Rely on consistently reliable sources. If a source has a bias that would not be obvious to an average reader, note that in the story.
Make sure to put data sets into context. If necessary, note that a data set has a questionable track record (or is considered the most authoritative). For example, the Chinese government puts out its official manufacturing index (the PMI), and the independent Caixin business news outlet produces its own manufacturing index (the CMI). Some economists and journalists have expressed skepticism over official Chinese government data. (Chinese state media calls this criticism “a fallacy” and “cognitive warfare against China.”) You must reach your own conclusions. You may want to present the data side by side and let readers decide what to trust. Or point out the fact that one is government-produced and the other is not.
You often have competing data sets measuring the same, or similar, topics. Consumer confidence in the U.S. is measured monthly by the Conference Board, a nonpartisan business think tank, and by the University of Michigan. Global consumer confidence is tracked monthly by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international policymaking forum and data hub. The Conference Board also releases a monthly CEO confidence barometer. All of these measures are highly respected by business journalists. But you must be careful not to “mix apples and oranges.” Compare the same data set over time rather than mixing your surveys.
[Read more: To write better features, think like a child]
(9) Sweat the small stuff
Legendary BusinessWeek editor-in-chief Stephen Shepard told his staff to make sure their numbers are correct because people in the business community will always notice errors — and complain.
Small mistakes harm your credibility, and your publication’s. Don’t confuse millions, billions and trillions. Don’t mix up percentage increase and percentage points. Spell names correctly and double-check people’s job titles. It’s easy. There’s no room for error, and no excuse for errors.
(10) Remember: You are not a cheerleader
Journalists are neutral observers and analysts. We don’t cheer for good news and write “unfortunately” about bad news. We are not rooting for the businesses we cover to do well or for the economy to boom or for unemployment to go down. We are not sad about workers who lose jobs or factories that close. We show the human side of the news through description, details and quotations, not through loaded adverbs and personal asides.
It’s important to maintain independence from the players we cover. You must decide the news angle — not the people you are covering.
“We write about what’s happening, not necessarily what is announced,” Colin Pope, editor of the Austin Business Journal, reminded Global Business Journalism students.
(11) Make your writing accessible
Structure your story carefully to make it easily accessible to your audience. As veteran business journalist and professor Chris Roush writes: “You can be the greatest business reporter of all time and find all kinds of amazing facts about companies or the economy. But unless you know how to put those facts together in a compelling series of words and sentences, your work will have gone to waste.”
Get to the point immediately. What’s new? What’s the most important information? Why is it important? It may seem counterintuitive, but try to avoid numbers in the lead of an economics story. It’s better to write that “Ukraine’s economy will shrink by almost half this year, according to a report released by the World Bank” than to use the specific number, 45%. Numbers, particularly large numbers, can confuse readers and obscure the impact of the news. It’s better to use vivid descriptions that offer context and then circle back with specific data.
That’s exactly what Bloomberg News did in this October 2024 report. “Chinese stocks listed onshore headed for their first decline in 11 days as traders grew impatient with the pace of Beijing’s stimulus measures, with sentiment also hurt by weak holiday-spending data,” the story by Charlotte Yang began. Only in the second paragraph did Bloomberg start unspooling numbers: “The benchmark CSI Index slid as much as 7.4%, wiping out the gain of 5.9% it made Tuesday…”
When citing economic data, it is best to put the new number first, followed by either the previous data point or the change from the previous data point. This provides instant context. Don’t overwhelm your audience with numbers. As a general rule, limit yourself to two numbers in a sentence. Try to avoid numbers in back-to-back sentences.
You can find yourself drowning in numbers. You’re the expert: decide what is most important and leave the rest out. You are the gate-keeper for your readers. Your judgment is important. Don’t overwhelm them with information of diminishing value.
Your information should be easily understood. Avoid most acronyms (YOY, ROI, YTD), but a few — like CEO and GDP — are widely understood and always acceptable. Avoid business jargon such as synergy, robust, core competency, low-hanging fruit or mission-critical. Your story should sound like a conversation with a knowledgeable friend, not a corporate press release or a government report.
That kind of writing will allow you to convey to your audience your analytical skill and indomitable spirit of inquiry. Those traits are essential to success in economic reporting, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com, told Global Business Journalism students.
“People in business journalism should have a native curiosity that never sleeps.”
This story was earlier published on GlobalBusinessJournalism.com and IJNet.org.
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