April 8, 2008 5:12PM
Where’s the Business Section?
By Alexis Glick
Get this! Newspapers across the country are doing away with their business sections. Shocking? It depends on how you look at. Some say yes, especially given today’s economy and the headline stories about the housing crisis, mortgage meltdowns, the stock market and the Federal Reserve cutting rates to revitalize the economy. Not to mention the fact that in almost every poll Americans are saying the No. 1 issue when they go to vote is the economy. Some would say no, given the weakness in housing, mortgage companies, autos, financials and credit card companies. The traditional advertisers of those products and services are suffering and have smaller and smaller advertising budgets given the climate.
It’s a fascinating story given the focus on the U.S. economy. Who are the beneficiaries? Why is this happening? What will this mean for local businesses? Is the Internet cannibalizing the newspaper business?
Take a look at this story. It’s a passionate discussion with Gail DeGeorge, president of SABEW and Edward Atorino, a Benchmark Company News Industry analyst about the future of the business writer and newspapers across the country.
Comment by chuck harrison
Apr 8th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
The best business section I’ve read and is still up is the Jackson Clairon Ledger.com site. Over the local Vicksburg Post which has decline in circulation and readers for that matter,the Clairon Ledger still has its business section. The Ledger still has the best business section while the Post hardly doesn’t have a business section at all.
Comment by Burnsie
Apr 8th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Sure, there are alternative and better places to obtain information nowadays. The business sections are becoming irrelevant in some papers, like the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We are lucky to get a little meaningful content and most of it is from the WSJ anyways. I’d hope there can be an exposure to local, nation and global business in a one stop shop but I won’t get it from my paper. Sadly, I think once they are gone, they won’t be back in the way we remember. I hope they can evolve in to something meaningful again but I won’t hold my breath. Maybe they should just be funny papers… Everyone laughs at Family Circus, right…? ha!
Comment by Flo
Apr 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Well the way the economy is going we won’t need a business section and what business is left you can just move to the government section since they are all in bed together anyway. The papers will need to increase the section for Jobs wanted.
Newspapers are going out because they don’t report news. They report opinion and we have enough of that watching TV. If newspapers had real reporters they would do more investigative reporting instead of waiting for the fire house sirens for a story.
Comment by sylvan
Apr 11th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Thats ridiculous, the only sections I used to read were the comics and the business section. The people need updates periodically on changes in the economy, and the people who care the most are the older generation who are not really internet savvy, they need a newspaper.