Despite the best efforts of financial literacy education in schools and new money management legislation in state capitols, many Americans still find finance topics confusing and intimidating. This is especially true for business news, which often covers complicated concepts like stock markets and investing. That’s why it’s important for journalists to make finance and business news relatable to the average person, even if that means avoiding technical vernacular and using simpler language.
Business news encompasses the activities and transactions involving businesses, which can range from the local mattress store to the multinational oil company. They also include non-profit and for-profit companies as well as sole proprietorships and partnerships. Business organizations are usually defined by the industry in which they operate or the goods and services they offer. Some examples are Amazon, which started as an online bookseller and has now become the largest retailer in the world, and Apple, which produces a variety of products including smartphones, computers, earphones and streaming services.
The 2007-2009 financial crisis and its lingering effects have prompted criticisms of business journalism as a whole, particularly that it’s investor oriented, generally unquestioning of the larger capitalist economic system and does little watchdog reporting. This article takes a look at some of the major critiques and aims to examine how journalists can better approach business news in order to keep it relevant to the general public.