Strategies

How to: Make the complex coherent

Some issues are so complicated it's hard to imagine how they could be made into riveting television or radio stories. But PBS's Frontline has a long track record of making complex financial stories worth watching. How do they do it?

Use social media

It's tough enough to cover a complicated topic like the economy on the air. How can you do it justice in the even shorter form of social media?

Watchdog local companies

Tough economic conditions that put pressure on businesses also increase the incidence of failure and fraud. To spot local companies with problems, you just need to know where to look.

Cover the housing beat

Few local television stations have a dedicated business reporter, much less a specialist who covers one specific industry. But two years ago, WFOR-TV in Miami assigned David Sutta to the housing beat and he's been breaking stories ever since.

Investigate mortgage fraud

Think mortgage fraud went away with the subprime meltdown? Think again. The FBI says mortgage fraud is increasing across the country. How can you investigate what's happening in your area?

"4 Your Money"

A full newsroom effort--that's how WFOR-TV news director Adrienne Roark describes her station's financial coverage project, "4 Your Money." The CBS station in Miami has tackled the topic much the way it would another kind of crisis--a South Florida hurricane.

Measure your local economy

The stock market is trending up but consumer confidence is down. Home sales are up but so is unemployment. How can you tell if recovery has actually started in your area?

Bring business stories home

The hardest thing about business reporting isn't the what, it's the why. Journalists need to help their audience see that financial developments matter to them. But how?

Navigate bankruptcy court

From automotive suppliers to restaurant chains, corporate bankruptcies are on the rise. If a public company in your area files for bankruptcy, are you prepared to cover the story?

"Financial Survival Guide"

Sometimes one station's journalism can be magnified by a corporate effort, especially online. That's part of the thinking behind the Financial Survival Guide, now featured on the Web sites of all E.W. Scripps stations.

"Where the jobs are"

As the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, millions of Americans are still looking for work. In Los Angeles, KABC-TV is doing its best to help.

Find business stories

Business beat reporters know how to dig for stories, but Mark Hamrick of the Associated Press says just keeping his eyes and ears open often pays off too.

Prepare a guest

Many stations are using on-air experts to round out their economic coverage, but a lot of their guests have little or no experience with liven television interviews. How can you help them communicate better with your audience?

"Your Money"

Business stories can be complicated and not naturally visual, which means they can be hard to tell on TV. While some issues can be explored through personal profiles, not every topic lends itself to that approach. KYTV in Springfield, Mo., is using its "Your Money" franchise to tell stories differently.

"Planet Money"

Feeling lost in a galaxy of news about the economy? The multimedia Planet Money group at National Public Radio has a simple mission: to explain the meltdown. How do they do it?

Meltdown coverage

When journalists who cover business met in Denver recently, one key question was about the coverage of the financial meltdown: Did they blow it?

Make sense of money

KGO Radio's Lynn Jimenez has been covering business for almost 20 years but she still sees it as a challenge. She works hard to get information across in her daily "Your Money" reports so they don't leave listeners "feeling bored or stupid." How does she do it?

Illustrate the basics

"Americans don't understand the basics of the economy," says Newsweek's Anna Quindlen, and she may well be right. Can journalists help remedy that by explaining complicated topics in an interesting way?

"Hoofy and Boo"

In the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, is there any room for levity? The people who hand out the national Emmys certainly think so.

Manage the math

Ask a roomful of journalists how many of them majored in math and you'll rarely see a hand go up. The truth is, stories with lots of numbers can be as intimidating for reporters as they are for the audience. But if you're going to cover local business and personal finance, you need at least some math skills.

"Project Economy"

Hearst-Argyle stations have expanded on air coverage of the economy this year and devoted a special online section to money-related stories. But the company's "Project Economy" doesn't stop there.

Compare numbers

You can't cover the economy without using at least a few numbers, and it's sometimes hard to put those numbers in perspective. Comparisons are a great way to do that, but only if you choose your comparisons wisely.

Background a business

A local company announces layoffs. Another company files for bankruptcy. Reporting that news is just step one, because the story needs background if it's going to make sense.

"Beating the Recession"

Economic coverage can sometimes feel superficial and scattershot. Many stories about the headlines of the day lack perspective, and they're often negative in tone. With those concerns in mind, KCNC-TV in Denver, Colo., launched a new franchise in 2009 called "Beating the Recession."