Business Editors Encouraged to Speak the Language of Average Readers

A unique opportunity to stand out in the business journalism market place was presented at this week's annual American Press Institute Business Editors Seminar by Ariel Capital Management president Mellody Hobson.

Hobson underlined a disconnect between the media and the average investor when it comes to business-related language. A survey of 10 questions conducted by Ariel, dubbed Investing 101, included such questions as:

• What is an IRA?
• What is a bull market?
• How many companies are in the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
• Which is the financial market that is the indicator of technology companies?

Many respondents were not up to the task.

"Very few people could effectively answer more than six questions, " noted Hobson, who is also a weekly contributor on personal finance for the ABC network's Good Morning America. "These questions were extraordinarily basic. The financial literacy level is so low in this country. The audience is lost in translation. "

Hobson says the leaders of media publications who invest time in educating the public will stand out from the crowd. She notes they can accomplish this by defining what appears to be simplistic language to average readers.

"The good news from my perspective is that it creates an opportunity, " she says. "The organization that focuses on this type of coverage has a chance to distinguish itself from the marketplace. "

The daily reports of the movement of the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 provide little context for the average reader, Hobson says. She recommends that journalists report beyond the daily point fluctuations and include related daily and year-to-date percentages to help put the major indices into greater perspective.

Hobson also expressed the need for a figurehead to lead the business world "to give reassurance to the industry " much the way retired attorneys, generals and athletes do so today. She went on to correlate presenting context in business journalism to that of the sports industry.

"In sports reporting, they don't typically just give you the score, " Hobson says. "There's color commentary on what's going on. Editors should find a way to create that same kind of scenario in business journalism. "

Also included among this week's speakers was Dr. Peter Fader, marketing professor with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He presented a statistical data model to help project sales of distinct companies across the U.S.

"It is important to understand the influence of outside forces on sales such as Christmas, " Fader says. "It's extremely hard to manufacture a sleeper product that explodes. It all comes down to customer behavior. We can predict what's going on very, very well. "

Other presenters at this week's seminar included Bonita Burton, assistant managing editor/visuals at The Orlando Sentinel; John Emshwiller, reporter at The Wall Street Journal; Mark Hester, business editor at The Oregonian; Harry Holzer, professor at Georgetown University; Jodi Schneider, economics editor at Congressional Quarterly; and Brenda Richardson, editor of Your Money of the Tribune Co.

"You have to have the numbers make sense for the readers, " Richardson told seminar members. "They are relying on you to be accurate. It puts unique demands on financial journalists to be fair and accurate. "