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Business journalism is the part ofjournalism that tracks, records, analyzes, and interprets thebusiness,economic andfinancial activities and changes that take place in societies.Topics widely cover the entire purview of allcommercialactivities related to theeconomy.
This area of journalism provides news and featurearticles about people, places, and issues related to thebusiness sector. Most[quantify] newspapers, magazines, radio, and television-news shows 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.[1]
Business journalism began as early as theMiddle Ages, to help well-known trading families communicate with each other.[2]
Around 1700,Daniel Defoe—best known for his novels, especiallyRobinson Crusoe—began publishing business and economic news.[3] In 1882Charles Dow,Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser began a wire service that delivered news to investment houses alongWall Street.[2] In 1889,The Wall Street Journal began publishing.[2] While the famous muckraking journalistIda Tarbell did not consider herself to be a business reporter, her reporting and writing about theStandard Oil Co. in 1902 provided the template for how thousands of business journalists have covered companies ever since.[4] Business coverage gained prominence in the 1990s, with wider investment in thestock market.The Wall Street Journal is one prominent example of business journalism and is among theUnited States of America's top newspapers in terms of bothcirculation and respect for thejournalists whose work appears there.[5]
Journalists who work in this branch 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 disseminate their work through all types of mass media.
Business journalism, although common in mostindustrialized countries, has a very limited role inthird-world anddeveloping countries. This leaves citizens of such countries in a very disadvantaged position locally and internationally.[6] Recent efforts to bring business media to these countries have proven to be worthwhile.[7]