Unit A - Introduction to Business and Finance Reporting

Question 1

What are the seven most essential skills needed by business and finance reporters?

Answer 1

• Good basic numeracy skills.
• Knowledge of business, finance and industry, (or a keen interest to quickly acquire such knowledge).
• Awareness of the readership/audience you are working for and an understanding of what they want and need.
• The ability to present stories in an easily accessible style.
• Accurate recording of all up-coming events in the business or news desk diary.
• Continuously building and developing a useful bank of contacts on the business, finance and industry circuits.
• Meeting deadlines.

Question 2

What is the difference between ‘on-the-record’ and ‘off-the-record’?

Answer 2

During interviews, contacts may provide sensitive information they would prefer is either not used in the media, or that it is not attributed to them as the source. They might say that their briefing is ‘off-the-record’, and the reporter should check if this means that they should not be identified as the source, or whether they mean the facts or information are not for publication at all. The reporter should respect the contact’s wishes on anonymity to develop trust, although the facts/information may well become verifiable through other sources. On any contentious issues it is always best to consult the business editor or news editor.

Question 3

What are the main principles in the Editors’ Code of Practice and in Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code relating to financial journalism?

Answer 3

Editors’ Code of Practice

• Journalists must not use for their own profit financial information they receive in advance of its general publication, nor should they pass such information to others.
• They must not write about shares or securities in whose performance they know that they or their close families have a significant financial interest without disclosing the interest to the editor or financial editor.
• They must not buy or sell, either directly or through nominees or agents, shares or securities about which they have written recently or about which they intend to write in the near future.

Ofcom
- People working on programmes who make an investment recommendation must disclose any financial interest they have that ‘may reasonably be expected to impair the objectivity of that recommendation’.