A business is an organized economic activity where goods or services are exchanged for money or other value. In this context, news refers to current events or trends affecting businesses, companies, and markets. It also includes information on companies’ financial performance, such as earnings reports and stock prices. Business news may cover a range of topics, from local economic conditions and consumer spending to global trends that affect business investment.
While pure business journalism is focused on a narrow audience of economic professionals, journalists now aim to demystify this type of news for the general population. That doesn’t mean “dumbing it down,” but rather presenting the information in a way that can be easily understood, said Cheung. That means explaining complicated topics like profit margins, assets allocation and return on investment with clear, simple terms. It also helps to include strong on-camera interviews with experts or individuals who have been directly affected by business news, she added.
As a rule, readers only want to read business news articles that are relevant to their lives and the practical issues they face. This makes it important for writers to identify the lens through which their readers will view each story and then draft the article accordingly. For example, a story on new marketing techniques Amazon is using might be significant from a sales and marketing perspective, but not from the angle of accounting or stockbroking. For more tips on how to find business-related news stories, see the Research Guides page of this guide or ask a librarian.