{{Short description|Branch of journalism}} {{Redirect|Business news||Business News (disambiguation)}} {{Journalism sidebar}} '''Business journalism''' is the part of journalism that tracks, records, analyzes, and interprets the business, economic and financial activities and changes that take place in societies. Topics widely cover the entire purview of all commercial activities related to the economy.
This area of journalism provides news and feature articles about people, places, and issues related to the business sector. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television-news shows can include a business segment. Detailed and in-depth business journalism may appear in publications, radio, and television channels dedicated specifically to business and financial journalism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Business journalists continue to earn premium salaries; 70% report salary increases |url=https://businessjournalism.org |website=Business Journalism |date=2023 |access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref>
== History == Business journalism began as early as the Middle Ages, to help well-known trading families communicate with each other.<ref name=history>{{Cite web |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf |title=Digital News Report 2023 |publisher=Reuters Institute |access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref> In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, one of the first business papers was Neus Zeitungen of the House of Fugger, which was well read by merchants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Ordinary Reader in the History of Business Newspapers: A misunderstanding {{!}} Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/ordinary-reader-history-business-newspapers-misunderstanding |access-date=2025-12-06 |website=reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> Around 1700, Daniel Defoe, best known for his novels, especially ''Robinson Crusoe,'' began publishing business and economic news.<ref>Margarett A. James, and Dorothy F. Tucker. "Daniel Defoe, Journalist." ''Business History Review'' 2.1 (1928): 2-6.</ref> By 1740-1760, business press could be found in most economies, particularly in Europe, but also in places such as China, South Africa and Argentina. By 1845, Britain had 24 business newspapers.<ref name=":0" />
In 1869, John J. Kiernan launched his Wall Street Financial News Bureau, which used a combination of physical news gathering and electric powered news dissemination, for stockbrokers. He trained and employed Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, who in 1882, began a wire service that delivered news to investment houses along Wall Street.<ref name=history/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wells |first=Rob |date=2020-10-01 |title=John J. Kiernan: Business Journalism Pioneer, 1845–1893 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2020.1787780 |journal=Journalism History |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=321–338 |doi=10.1080/00947679.2020.1787780 |issn=0094-7679|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In January 1888, the London Financial Guide was launched and renamed the Financial Times a month later.<ref name=":0" /> In 1889, ''The Wall Street Journal'' began publishing.<ref name=history/>
While the famous muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell did not consider herself to be a business reporter, her reporting and writing about the Standard Oil Co. in 1902 provided the template for how thousands of business journalists have covered companies ever since.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller |url=https://archive.org/details/takingontrustepi0000wein |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co. |date=2008 |access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref>
The globalization of commerce since the late 20th century has made financial and business journalism more important, whilst defined benefit retirement accounts and mass market investment opportunities, have increased the number of people that are impacted by changes in the financial markets, increasing business journalisms readership and importance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Timmermans |first=Jeffrey |date=28 August 2019 |title=Financial Journalism |url=https://oxfordre.com/communication/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-812 |access-date=6 December 2025 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication}}</ref> Business coverage gained further prominence in the 1990s, with wider investment in the stock market.
''The Wall Street Journal'' is a prominent example of business journalism and is among the United States of America's top newspapers in terms of both circulation and respect for the journalists who write for the publication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Business Journalists Can Ensure Story Sources Are Reliable |url=https://businessjournalism.org |publisher=Business Journalism |date=2023 |access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref> In 2022, an IPSOS survey named the Financial Times as the leading business publication in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FT named Europe's leading business publication for 7th year running |url=https://professional.ft.com/en-gb/blog/the-ft-is-europes-leading-business-publication-for-7-years-running/ |access-date=2025-12-06 |website=professional.ft.com |language=en-gb}}</ref>
== Personnel == Journalists who work in this area are classed as "business journalists". Their main task is to gather information about current events as they relate to business. They may also cover processes, trends, consequences, and important people in business and they disseminate their work through all types of mass media. There are different types of business journalists, including Financial, Economic, Corporate, and Trade journalists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What does a business journalist do? - CareerExplorer |url=https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/business-journalist/ |access-date=2025-12-06 |website=www.careerexplorer.com}}</ref>
It is anticipated that there will be a 3% decline in employment for news analysts, journalists and reporters between 2022 and 2032. The skills required for business journalism can be used for business to business trade press.<ref>{{Cite web |last=DuBovis |first=Naomi |date=2024-08-15 |title=How business journalists can build a career in the trade press {{!}} The Reynolds Center |url=https://businessjournalism.org/2024/08/trade-press/ |access-date=2025-12-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Industrial and developing countries == Business journalism, although common in most industrialized countries, has a limited role in third-world and developing countries. This leaves citizens of such countries less able to increase their knowledge of business current affairs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2023 |title=Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2023 |publisher=Reuters Institute |date=2023 |access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref> Efforts to bring business media to these countries have proven to be worthwhile.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/191013/index.en.shtml |title=Enlightening entrepreneurs |last1=Luesby |first1=Jenny |date=February 2011 |at=Focus, Page 62 |journal=D+C Development and Cooperation |volume=52 |number=2 |publisher=Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) |access-date=25 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809030853/http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/191013/index.en.shtml |archive-date=9 August 2011 }}</ref>
== See also == * Gerald Loeb Award *''Business Insider'' *''Forbes'' *''Financial Times'' *''Nihon Keizai Shinbun'' * Trade magazine * ''Weekend City Press Review''
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |title=Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller |last=Weinberg |first=Steve |year=2008 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-04935-0 |oclc=154706823 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/takingontrustepi0000wein }} * ''Profits and Losses: Business Journalism and its Role in Society'', Roush, Chris, 2010. Marion Street Press: Portland, OR. {{ISBN|978-1936863181}} * ''Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication'', Roush, Chris, 2016, Routledge: New York. {{ISBN|978-1138188389}}
==External links== * [https://books.google.com/books?id=pLV1AwAAQBAJ&dq=business+journalism+encyclopedia+definition&pg=PA225 Definition and history of business journalism in the ''Encyclopedia of Journalism'']
{{Journalism}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Business journalism Category:News Category:Journalism by field