Writing About Business - Terri Thompson

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.

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.

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